ENHANCED MALIGNANT PROGRESSION OF NASOPHARYNGEAL CARCINOMA CELLS MEDIATED BY THE EXPRESSION OF EPSTEIN-BARR NUCLEAR ANTIGEN 1IN VIVO

✍ Scribed by SHEU, LAI-FA; CHEN, ANN; MENG, CHING-LIANG; HO, KUO-CHIEH; LEE, WEI-HWA; LEU, FUR-JIANG; CHAO, CHUNG-FAYE

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1996
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 737 KB
• Volume: 180
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0022-3417
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1096-9896(199611)180:3<243::aid-path655>3.0.co;2-7

✦ Synopsis

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is consistently associated with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and mostly classified as poorly differentiated squamous cell carcinoma or undifferentiated carcinoma with early metastasis and a rapidly progressive clinical. course. The EBV-encoded latent proteins, Epstein-Barr nuclear antigen 1 (EBNA 1) and latent membrane proteins (LMPs), may be expressed in NPC, but their biological effects are poorly understood. EBNA 1 may predispose B lymphocytes to lymphomagenesis in transgenic mice, but its biological effects in NPC are still unknown. This study investigated the biological effects of EBNA 1 by expressing it in an EBV-negative NPC cell line (HONE-I), which was then inoculated into both nude and severe combined immunodeficiency mice. The EBNA 1 caused HONE-1 cells to grow in a less differentiated pattern and to progress more rapidly, as well as increasing their tumourigenicity and metastatic capability. These data suggest that EBNA 1 may play a critical role in the progressive evolution of NPC.