Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 1996 Jun 17;15(12):3117-26.

Expression of Epstein-Barr virus nuclear antigen-1 induces B cell neoplasia in transgenic mice

J B Wilson  1 , J L Bell, A J Levine
Affiliations

Expression of Epstein-Barr virus nuclear antigen-1 induces B cell neoplasia in transgenic mice

J B Wilson et al. EMBO J. .

Abstract

The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) nuclear antigen-1 (EBNA-1) is a pleiotropic protein which has been characterized extensively both biochemically and functionally. It is the only one of the identified latent protein-encoding genes to be consistently expressed in viral-associated endemic Burkitt's lymphoma cells. As such, it is the only candidate viral protein to possibly perform a maintenance function in the tumour pathology. Despite this, no oncogenic activity has been attributed to the protein in tissue culture assays. The experiments described here were initiated to explore the activity of the protein in B cells in vivo. EBNA-1 transgenic mice were generated with transgene expression directed to the B cell compartment using the mouse Ig heavy chain intron enhancer. Transgene expression was demonstrated in the lymphoid tissues of mice of two independent lines. Transgenic positive mice of both lines succumb to B cell lymphoma. The B cell tumours are monoclonal, frequently of follicular centre cell origin and remarkably similar to those induced by transgenic c-myc expression. These results demonstrate that EBNA-1 is oncogenic in vivo and suggest that the gene product may play a direct role in the pathogenesis of Burkitt's lymphoma and possibly other EBV-associated malignancies.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Anal Biochem. 1987 Apr;162(1):156-9 - PubMed
    1. J Virol. 1995 Jun;69(6):3752-8 - PubMed
    1. EMBO J. 1987 Dec 20;6(13):4055-65 - PubMed
    1. J Virol. 1989 Jan;63(1):101-10 - PubMed
    1. Cell. 1989 Feb 24;56(4):673-82 - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources