title: Expression of VCA (viral capsid antigen) and EBNA1 (Epstein-Barr-virus-encoded nuclear antigen 1) genes of Epstein-Barr virus in Pichia pastoris and application of the products in a screening test for patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma.
abstract: EBV (Epstein-Barr virus) serological tests have been used for many years as accessory diagnostic predictors of NPC (nasopharyngeal carcinoma). To date, IF (indirect immunofluorescence) assays still serve as the 'gold standard' for EBV serodiagnosis. However, IF assays are time-consuming, unsuitable for automatic handling and difficult to standardize. This makes their application in mass screening of populations inconvenient. Some of the technical difficulties associated with IF have been overcome by the development of specific ELISAs, but, at present, high sensitivity and specificity cannot be achieved simultaneously by using recombinant protein-based ELISAs, as the diagnostic value of different fragments of EBV in NPC is different. In an attempt to determine a suitable recombinant EBV protein for diagnostic purposes, fragments of EBV VCA (viral capsid antigen) and EBNA1 (Epstein-Barr-virus-encoded nuclear antigen 1) genes were expressed in the methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris, and a novel ELISA was established using P. pastoris-expressed VCA-BALF4 [aa (amino acids) 287-623; the BALF4 gene encodes the EBV glycoprotein gp125], EBNA1 (aa 390-641) and VCA-BFRF3 (the gene BFRF3 encodes a viral structural capsid protein or tegument protein VCA p18) proteins. Serum samples were collected from patients with NPC and healthy controls and were tested using this ELISA. The sensitivity of VCA-BFRF3, VCA-BALF4 and EBNA1 tests in the NPC sera were 65.0 (195/300), 76.3 (229/300) and 81.4% (244/300) respectively, whereas the specificity of normal individuals were 92 (460/500), 96 (480/500) and 95.8% (479/500). The optimum combination is VCA-BALF4 plus EBNA1, which identified 90.3% (271/300) of the NPC patients and had a specificity of 92.8% (464/500) for normal individuals. The results obtained from the evaluation of three antibodies to EBV as markers for detecting NPC suggests that a combination of EBNA1 (aa 390-641) and VCA-BALF4 (aa 287-623) assays would give better results in screening for NPC.
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, 600 Tianhe Road, Guangzhou 510630, Guangdong Province, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Guoqiang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Hong
authors.forename: Zhaoxia
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Jue
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Zhenyu
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Lin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology; D000956:Antigens, Viral / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D036022:Capsid Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology; D002460:Cell Line; D019309:Epstein-Barr Virus Nuclear Antigens / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D015870:Gene Expression; D006801:Humans; D007070:Immunoglobulin A / Q000276:immunology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009303:Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology; D010843:Pichia / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D000956:Antigens, Viral; D036022:Capsid Proteins; D019309:Epstein-Barr Virus Nuclear Antigens; C041788:Epstein-Barr viral capsid antigen; D007070:Immunoglobulin A; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; C417029:EBV-encoded nuclear antigen 1