title: Deletions and single-base mutations within the carboxy-terminal region of the latent membrane protein 1 oncogene in Epstein-Barr virus-related gastric cancers of southern Japan.
abstract: The 30-base pair (bp) deletion of the cytoplasmic carboxy-terminal domain of the latent membrane protein 1 (LMP-1) gene was analyzed in 37 frozen tissues from patients with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-related gastric cancer and 18 throat washings from healthy adults in southern Japan. The 30-bp deletion was identified in 33 (91.7%) of 36 specimens of EBV-related gastric cancers and in 15 (83.3%) of 18 throat washings from healthy adults. In one case of gastric cancer, an additional 9-bp deletion was identified downstream of the 30-bp deletion. From the last transmembrane domain to the end of the carboxy terminal of LMP-1, mutations were examined in 37 cases of gastric cancers and in three cases of throat washings. Twenty-eight nonsilent mutations were identified in this region of EBV-related gastric cancer and throat washings. Five nonsilent mutations at positions 168,755, 168,746, 168,687, 168,357, and 168,355 were identified in all 30-bp-deleted cases of EBV-related gastric cancers and throat washings. However, these nonsilent mutations were not identified in three patients without the 30-bp deletion. Although the deletion and single-base mutations of the LMP-1 gene in gastric cancers and throat washings were similar to those of nasopharyngeal carcinoma in Taiwan and China, more single-base mutations were found in southern Japan. These data indicate that high prevalence of the 30-bp deletion of the LMP-1 gene in gastric cancers may reflect the prevalence of the deletion variant in the normal population in southern Japan.
authors.affiliation: Division of Persistent and Oncogenic Viruses, Center for Chronic Viral Diseases, Faculty of Medicine, Kagoshima University, Japan.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mori
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Itoh
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tokunaga
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Eizuru
mesh_terms: D004252:DNA Mutational Analysis; D005787:Gene Frequency; D004854:Herpesvirus 4, Human / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D017354:Point Mutation; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D018807:Polymorphism, Single-Stranded Conformational; D017384:Sequence Deletion; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000821:virology*; D014763:Viral Matrix Proteins / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: C037662:EBV-associated membrane antigen, Epstein-Barr virus; D014763:Viral Matrix Proteins