天然免疫分子乳铁蛋白抑制鼻咽癌的发生发展

鼻咽癌是一种多基因遗传性肿瘤,其发病与遗传因素和环境因素密切相关,基因与环境因素间存在复杂的交互作用. 本课题组通过全基因组杂合性丢失扫描及比较基因组杂交,发现鼻咽癌中3号染色体短臂存在高频缺失,通过鼻咽癌家系连锁分析,发现染色体3p21区域为鼻咽癌易感基因区,随后通过表型克隆策略在该染色体区域分离鉴定了鼻咽癌候选易感/抑瘤基因LTF. LTF基因编码的乳铁蛋白是一种广泛分布于哺乳动物乳汁、鼻咽分泌物、泪液等分泌液中的天然免疫分子,在正常鼻咽部高表达而在鼻咽癌组织中表达显著下调,且与鼻咽癌的临床进展及侵袭转移密切相关. 病例-对照关联分析发现LTF基因中2个单核苷酸多态位点与鼻咽癌发病风险密切相关,且多态性改变可影响LTF基因的表达水平. 我们发现乳铁蛋白能与EB病毒在人B细胞表面的受体CD21结合,阻断EB病毒入侵宿主B细胞,并抑制EB病毒由B细胞向鼻咽上皮细胞的传递,在鼻咽上皮的癌变过程中起保护作用. 我们还发现LTF能通过MAPK和AKT等通路抑制鼻咽癌细胞的增殖和侵袭转移. 这些结果表明乳汁中的天然成份乳铁蛋白在鼻咽癌等EB病毒相关疾病的防治中具有重要的应用前景.     

对鼻咽癌恶性转化基因Tx表达的初步研究

运用杂交组化及Ｎｏｒｔｈｅｒｎ法,对中国人鼻咽癌细胞株恶性转化基因Ｔｘ的表达进行了初步研究。结果表明该基因在鼻咽癌细胞株中表达１．３ｋｂｍＲＮＡ,但表达强度较低,在ＨＰＶ阳性或阴性人宫颈癌细胞中均无表达,ＥＢＶ阴性的Ｂ淋巴细胞系及ＨＴＬＶ－１阳性的Ｔ细胞系中为阴性,而在ＥＢＶ阳性的Ｂ９５－８及Ｒａｊｉ细胞中Ｔｘ基因表达强烈,从而提示ＨＰＶ及ＨＴＬＶ－１不增强Ｔｘ的表达水平,而ＥＢＶ可能使Ｔｘ基因活化．这为进一步研究ＥＢＶ与Ｔｘ等瘤基因协同作用提供了新的依据。     

The Epstein-Barr virus latent membrane protein 1 induces expression of the epidermal growth factor receptor.

The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-encoded LMP1 protein is an important component of the process of transformation by EBV. LMP1 is essential for transformation of B lymphocytes, most likely because of its profound effects on cellular gene expression. Although LMP1 is expressed in the majority of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) tumors, the effect of LMP1 on cellular gene expression and its contribution to the development of malignancy in epithelial cells is largely unknown. In this study the effects of LMP1 on the expression and tyrosine kinase activity of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) were investigated in C33A human epithelial cells. Stable or transient expression of LMP1 in C33A cells increased expression of the EGFR at both the protein and mRNA levels. In contrast, expression of the EGFR was not induced by LMP1 in EBV-infected B lymphocytes. Stimulation of LMP1-expressing C33A cells with epidermal growth factor (EGF) caused rapid tyrosine phosphorylation of the EGFR (pp170) as well as several other proteins, including pp120, pp85, pp75, and pp55, indicating that the EGFR induced by LMP1 is functional. LMP1 also induced expression of the A20 gene in C33A epithelial cells. In C33A cells, LMP1 expression increased the proliferative response to EGF, as LMP1-expressing C33A cells continued to increase in number when plated in serum-free media supplemented with EGF, while the neo control cells exhibited very low levels of viability and did not proliferate. Immunoblot analysis of protein extracts from nude mouse-passaged NPC tumors also demonstrated that the EGFR is overexpressed in primary NPC tumors as well as those passaged in nude mice. This study suggests that the alteration in the growth patterns of C33A cells expressing LMP1 is a result of increased proliferative signals due to enhanced EGFR expression, as well as protection from cell death due to LMP1-induced A20 expression. The induction of EGFR and A20 by LMP1 may be an important component of EBV infection in epithelial cells and could contribute to the development of epithelial malignancies such as NPC.     

Alterations of the p53 gene in nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a malignancy which is consistently associated with the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). The structure of the EBV genome in NPC suggests that NPC is a clonal proliferation of epithelial cells which emerges after EBV infection. The disease develops with high incidence in specific populations in discrete geographic locations, implicating possible genetic or environmental cofactors. Mutations of the p53 gene are among the most frequent genetic changes found in a large variety of human tumors. Mutations in p53 have been shown to abrogate the suppressor function of wild-type p53 and thus contribute to the transformed phenotype. To determine if mutation in p53 participates in the development of the malignant clone in NPC, the structure and sequence of p53 in 42 primary, metastatic, and nude mouse-passaged NPC specimens was analyzed. A high frequency (6 of 9) of mutations was detected in the nude mouse-passaged tumors, while only 2 of 15 metastatic and 0 of the 18 primary tumors harbored mutant p53. The p53 mutations included single-point mutations and more extensive changes such as frame shifts, deletion, duplication, or complete loss of coding sequences. These data indicate that alterations of the p53 gene are unlikely to be involved in the initial genetic events leading to the clonal outgrowth in NPC. However, although it is a rare NPC which can be established in nude mice, this growth advantage appears to be conferred on tumors bearing a mutant p53.     

Epstein-barr virus-induced resistance to drugs that activate the mitotic spindle assembly checkpoint in Burkitt's lymphoma cells

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is associated with a number of human cancers, and latent EBV gene expression has been reported to interfere with cell cycle checkpoints and cell death pathways. Here we show that latent EBV can compromise the mitotic spindle assembly checkpoint and rescue Burkitt's lymphoma (BL)-derived cells from caspase-dependent cell death initiated in aberrant mitosis. This leads to unscheduled mitotic progression, resulting in polyploidy and multi- and/or micronucleation. The EBV latent genes responsible for this phenotype are expressed from the P3HR1 strain of virus and several viruses with similar genomic deletions that remove the EBNA2 gene. Although EBNA2 and the latent membrane proteins are not expressed, the EBNA3 proteins are present in these BL cells. Survival of the EBV-positive cells is not consistently associated with EBV lytic gene expression or with the genes that are expressed in EBV latency I BL cells (i.e., EBNA1, EBERs, and BARTs) but correlates with reduced expression of the cellular proapoptotic BH3-only protein Bim. These data suggest that a subset of latent EBV gene products may increase the likelihood of damaged DNA being inherited because of the impaired checkpoint and enhanced survival capacity. This could lead to greater genetic diversity in progeny cells and contribute to tumorigenesis. Furthermore, since it appears that this restricted latent EBV expression interferes with the responses of Burkitt's lymphoma-derived cells to cytotoxic drugs, the results of this study may have important therapeutic implications in the treatment of some BL.     

Use of adenovirus vectors expressing Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) immediate-early protein BZLF1 or BRLF1 to treat EBV-positive tumors

The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) genome is present in a variety of tumor types, including virtually all undifferentiated nasopharyngeal carcinomas (NPC) and a portion of gastric carcinomas. The uniform presence of the EBV genome in certain tumors (versus only a very small number of normal B cells) suggests that novel therapies which specifically target EBV-positive cells for destruction might be effective for treating such tumors. Although the great majority of EBV-positive tumor cells are infected with one of the latent forms of EBV infection, expression of either viral immediate-early protein (BZLF1 or BRLF1) is sufficient to convert the virus to the lytic form of infection. Induction of the lytic form of EBV infection could potentially result in death of the tumor cell. Here we have examined the efficacy of adenovirus vectors expressing the BZLF1 or BRLF1 proteins for treatment of EBV-positive epithelial tumors. The BZLF1 and BRLF1 vectors induced preferential killing of EBV-positive, versus EBV-negative, gastric carcinoma cells in vitro. Infection of C18 NPC tumors (grown in nude mice) with either the BZLF1 or BRLF1 vector, but not a control adenovirus vector, induced expression of early lytic EBV genes in tumor cells. Injection of C18 tumors with the BZLF1 or BRLF1 adenovirus vector, but not the control vector, also significantly inhibited growth of the tumors in nude mice. The addition of ganciclovir did not significantly affect the antitumor effect of the BZLF1 and BRLF1 adenovirus vectors. These results suggest a potential cancer therapy against EBV-related tumors.     

鼻咽癌Epstein－Barr病毒受体（EBVR／CR＿2）基因的病毒结合区的序列测定

Ｅｐｓｔｅｉｎ－Ｂａｒｒ病毒（ＥＢＶ）进入鼻咽上皮细胞的途径,是人们研究ＥＢＶ与鼻咽癌（ＮＰＣ）的病因关系时所必须回答的一个问题。用抗ＥＢＶ受体（ＥＢＶＲ／ＣＲ＿２）单抗检测上皮细胞中该受体的表达已有报道,但对上皮细胞中ＥＢＶＲ／ＣＲ＿２的基因结构仍需研究。我们采用ＰＣＲ扩增和不对称ＰＣＲ直接测序法,首次检测了１０例ＮＰＣ及３例正常人胚鼻咽上皮（Ｈｕｍａｎｅｍｂｒｙｏｎｉｃｎａｓｏｐａｒｙｎｇｅａｌｅｐｉｔｈｅｌｉｕｍ,ＨＥＮＥ）组织样本中ＥＢＶＲ／ＣＲ＿２的ＥＢＶ结合区的编码序列。这一片段的ＤＮＡ序列测定结果显示,人ＮＰＣ细胞和正常ＨＥＮＥ细胞的ＥＢＶＲ／ＣＲ＿２的ＥＢＶ结合区的编码序列,与正常人Ｂ淋巴细胞的ＥＢＶＲ／ＣＲ＿２的相应序列完全相同,提示ＥＢＶ感染鼻咽上皮细胞可能与ＥＢＶＲ／ＣＲ＿２基因的ＥＢＶ结合区结构改变无直接关系。     

Variable expression of latent membrane protein in nasopharyngeal carcinoma can be related to methylation status of the Epstein-Barr virus BNLF-1 5''-flanking region.

Seven virus-coded proteins, the nuclear proteins EBNA-1 to EBNA-6 and the latent membrane protein (LMP), are regularly expressed in Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-transformed lymphoblastoid cell lines. In nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), only EBNA-1 is regularly expressed; LMP is detected in about 65% of the tumors. In Burkitt's lymphoma tumors only EBNA-1 is expressed. We have recently shown that the methylation patterns of the EBV genome varied between these cell types. In virally transformed lymphoblastoid cell lines of normal origin, the EBV DNA is completely unmethylated. In contrast, in the Burkitt's lymphoma-derived cell line Rael and in a nude mouse-passaged NPC tumor, C15, there was an extensive methylation of CpG pairs. The methylation extended into the coding regions of the two expressed genes, EBNA-1 (in both tumor types) and LMP (in C15). Two presumptive control regions were exempted from this overall methylation: the oriP that contains both an origin of DNA replication and an EBNA-1-dependent enhancer and the 5'-flanking region of the BNLF-1 open reading frame that codes for LMP. The latter was only exempted in the LMP expressing NPC. We have now investigated the relation between expression of LMP and methylation of DNA in the 5'-flanking 1 kb region of BNLF-1, coding for LMP. LMP was methylated in 3 of 12 NPC biopsies that did not express LMP but was partially or totally unmethylated in the remaining 9 that expressed the protein. The three BNLF-1 exons were highly methylated in all the tumors. The oriP region was unmethylated in all the tumors, as in the previously studied Rael cell line and nude mouse-passaged NPC. Also, the BamHI W enhancer region involved in the expression of EBNA nuclear proteins was methylated. None of the biopsies expressed EBNA-2. Our data show that the EBV genomes are highly methylated in NPC tumors. The strong reverse correlation between the methylation of the putative control region of the LMP gene and the expression of LMP suggests that methylation has a role in the regulation of this gene.     

Epstein—Barr病毒基因组在鼻咽癌组织中转录的特征

对ＥＢ病毒基因在鼻咽癌活检组织细胞内的转录进行了较系统的探测。实验结果表明,ＥＢ病毒基因组在鼻咽癌活检组织中以附加体（Ｅｐｉｓｏｍｅ）形式存在,而其基因转录有如下特征：（１）ＥＢ病毒在所有鼻咽癌组织细胞中都表达ＥＢＮＡ－１,并且此基因转录产物由一个在ＢａｍＨＩ－Ｆ区的启动子（Ｆｐ）驱动;（２）潜伏感染膜蛋白（Ｌａｔｅｎｔ ｍｅｍｂｒａｎｅ ｐｒｏｔｅｉｎ,ＬＭＰ）和末端蛋白（Ｔｅｒｍｉｎａｌ ｐｒ     

Efficient Immortalization of Primary Nasopharyngeal Epithelial Cells for EBV Infection Study

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is common among southern Chinese including the ethnic Cantonese population living in Hong Kong. Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection is detected in all undifferentiated type of NPC in this endemic region. Establishment of stable and latent EBV infection in premalignant nasopharyngeal epithelial cells is an early event in NPC development and may contribute to its pathogenesis. Immortalized primary nasopharyngeal epithelial cells represent an important tool for investigation of EBV infection and its tumorigenic potential in this special type of epithelial cells. However, the limited availability and small sizes of nasopharyngeal biopsies have seriously restricted the establishment of primary nasopharyngeal epithelial cells for immortalization. A reliable and effective method to immortalize primary nasopharyngeal epithelial cells will provide unrestricted materials for EBV infection studies. An earlier study has reported that Bmi-1 expression could immortalize primary nasopharyngeal epithelial cells. However, its efficiency and actions in immortalization have not been fully characterized. Our studies showed that Bmi-1 expression alone has limited ability to immortalize primary nasopharyngeal epithelial cells and additional events are often required for its immortalization action. We have identified some of the key events associated with the immortalization of primary nasopharyngeal epithelial cells. Efficient immortalization of nasopharyngeal epithelial cells could be reproducibly and efficiently achieved by the combined actions of Bmi-1 expression, activation of telomerase and silencing of p16 gene. Activation of MAPK signaling and gene expression downstream of Bmi-1 were detected in the immortalized nasopharyngeal epithelial cells and may play a role in immortalization. Furthermore, these newly immortalized nasopharyngeal epithelial cells are susceptible to EBV infection and supported a type II latent EBV infection program characteristic of EBV-infected nasopharyngeal carcinoma. The establishment of an efficient method to immortalize primary nasopharyngeal epithelial cells will facilitate the investigation into the role of EBV infection in pathogenesis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma.