title: Length of Epstein-Barr virus termini as a determinant of epithelial cell clonal emergence.
abstract: Reiterated terminal sequences of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) DNA are numerically heterogeneous among infectious virions, providing a viral measure of clonality in infected cells. After in vitro infection, carcinoma cells bearing EBV episomes with fewer terminal repeats (TRs) proliferated faster. In single-cell clones, TR number varied inversely to the quantity of latent membrane protein 2A (LMP2A) transcripts whose unspliced precursors cross joined TRs. Thus, EBV clonality may reflect selection for a TR number that optimizes LMP2A-enhanced tumor progression, with infection occurring after epithelial cell transformation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, Shreveport, Louisiana 71130, USA.
authors.forename: Cary A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Moody
authors.forename: Rona S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Scott
authors.forename: Tao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Su
authors.forename: John W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Sixbey
mesh_terms: D002472:Cell Transformation, Viral; D002999:Clone Cells; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics; D004847:Epithelial Cells; D004854:Herpesvirus 4, Human / Q000235:genetics* / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D006801:Humans; D010957:Plasmids; D020079:Terminal Repeat Sequences / Q000235:genetics*; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured; D014763:Viral Matrix Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral; C037662:EBV-associated membrane antigen, Epstein-Barr virus; D014763:Viral Matrix Proteins