Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2009 Aug;143(2):209-21.
doi: 10.1016/j.virusres.2009.07.005. Epub 2009 Jul 23.

The extent of genetic diversity of Epstein-Barr virus and its geographic and disease patterns: a need for reappraisal

Cindy M Chang  1 , Kelly J Yu, Sam M Mbulaiteye, Allan Hildesheim, Kishor Bhatia
Affiliations
Review

The extent of genetic diversity of Epstein-Barr virus and its geographic and disease patterns: a need for reappraisal

Cindy M Chang et al. Virus Res. 2009 Aug.

Abstract

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is a ubiquitous, gamma-1 lymphotrophic virus etiologically linked to nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), endemic to Southern China, and Burkitt lymphoma (BL), endemic to equatorial Africa, both of which are rare elsewhere in the world. Why EBV is associated with different malignancies in different geographic regions remains puzzling and may be related to EBV genotypic variability through specific disease and geographic associations. We review the literature on sequence variation in EBV genes, focusing on LMP-1, EBNA-1, and BZLF-1 and their distribution by geography and disease. Given the limitations of current studies, definitive conclusions regarding the link between EBV genotypes, disease and geography are not possible. We suggest that the true extent of EBV diversity is likely to be greater than is currently recognized. Additional studies conducted in carefully selected populations, that are sufficiently powered to provide robust estimates, and that utilize testing approaches that permit full characterization of viral diversity are needed to further our understanding of patterns of EBV genetic variation and their association with malignancies in different regions.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 3
Figure 4
Figure 4
Figure 5
Figure 5
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Abdel-Hamid M, Chen JJ, Constantine N, Massoud M, Raab-Traub N. EBV strain variation: geographical distribution and relation to disease state. Virology. 1992;190(1):168–175. - PubMed
    1. Aguirre AJ, Robertson ES. Characterization of intertypic recombinants of the Epstein-Barr virus from the body-cavity-based lymphomas cell lines BC-1 and BC-2. Virology. 1999;264(2):359–369. - PubMed
    1. Aitken C, Sengupta SK, Aedes C, Moss DJ, Sculley TB. Heterogeneity within the Epstein-Barr virus nuclear antigen 2 gene in different strains of Epstein-Barr virus. J Gen Virol. 1994;75(Pt 1):95–100. - PubMed
    1. Aiyar A, Tyree C, Sugden B. The plasmid replicon of EBV consists of multiple cis-acting elements that facilitate DNA synthesis by the cell and a viral maintenance element. EMBO J. 1998;17(21):6394–6403. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Al-Homsi AS, Berger C, Van Baarle D, Kersten MJ, Klein MR, McQuain C, Van Oers R, Knecht H. Molecular analysis of critical sequences within the EBNA-2 type 1 gene from Epstein-Barr virus isolates from patients with infectious mononucleosis, tonsillar hyperplasia, and HIV infection. International Journal of Molecular Medicine. 1998;1(6):983–987. - PubMed

MeSH terms

Substances

LinkOut - more resources