Functional analysis of different LMP1 proteins isolated from Epstein-Barr virus-positive carriers

The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is the causative agent of infectious mononucleosis and is implicated in the development of several human malignancies. Latent membrane protein 1 (LMP1), an EBV protein with known oncogenic properties, may be important in the pathogenesis of EBV-associated tumors, particularly nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) and Hodgkin's disease (HD). Several reports suggested that sequence variations in the LMP1 gene may define a more aggressive, geographically restricted EBV-genotype. Most mutations in the LMP1 gene described are located within the C-terminus of the protein. However, the effect of these mutations on the biological function of the protein remains widely unknown. Therefore, this study aimed in investigating whether mutations detected in LMP1 genes isolated from different EBV-positive carriers have an effect on the biological function of the protein. For this purpose the LMP1 genes were amplified by nested PCR from DNA out of bone marrow and peripheral blood lymphocytes and sequenced. Three functional assays were performed in order to evaluate the biological activity of the different isolates: activation of the transcription factors NF-kappaB and AP-1 as well as the anchorage independent growth of LMP1 transfected ratl cells in soft agar. The results suggested that whereas differences in the activation of NF-kappaB through the various LMP1 isolates correlated tightly with their different expression levels, the outgrowth of transfected cells in soft agar did not and the transcription factor NF-kappaB therefore appeared not to be the major effector for the transformation of the rodent cell line ratl by LMP1. The various LMP1-isolates also differed in their capacity in activating the transcription factor AP-1. We found no correlation between the transforming ability of the LMPI isolates and activation of AP-1 suggesting that other so far uncharacterized domains also influence the transforming ability of the protein.