Perspective: Contribution of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) Reactivation to the Carcinogenicity of Nasopharyngeal Cancer Cells

Cyclosporine A induces Epstein-Barr virus reactivation in tree shrew (Tupaia belangeri chinensis) model

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) usually exists as a latent infection in immunocompetent hosts but immunosuppressed individuals are at risk for developing EBV reactivation that leads to the uncontrolled proliferation of B lymphocytes. In this study, we have mimicked the immunosuppressed microenvironment in the tree shrew model of EBV infection by using cyclosporine A (CsA). The results showed that EBV-cocultured peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) proliferated vigorously in response to CsA treatment in vitro. However, EBV susceptibility in vivo depended on the timing of CsA administration. Reactivation of EBV occurred in the latently EBV-infected tree shrews after treatment with 25 mg/kg/day CsA (EBV > CsA group), whereas tree shrews were no longer susceptible to infection if CsA was administered for five weeks before EBV injection (CsA > EBV group). RNA-seq analysis of both groups identified a further link between immunosuppression and EBV infection. KEGG pathway enrichment analysis revealed a significant enrichment of viral infection-related pathways in the EBV > CsA group, whereas tumor-related pathways were significantly enriched in the CsA > EBV group. A protein-protein interaction network was constructed using Cytoscape for the purpose of identifying hub genes that were then verified using qRT-PCR. In conclusion, the tree shrew model of EBV infection exhibits certain features of EBV infection in humans and serves as a valuable platform for exploring the underlying mechanisms of EBV infection.

Contribution of the Epstein-Barr virus to the oncogenesis of mature T-cell lymphoproliferative neoplasms

EBV is a lymphotropic virus, member of the Herpesviridae family that asymptomatically infects more than 90% of the human population, establishing a latent infection in memory B cells. EBV exhibits complex survival and persistence dynamics, replicating its genome through the proliferation of infected B cells or production of the lytic virions. Many studies have documented the infection of T/NK cells by EBV in healthy individuals during and after primary infection. This feature has been confirmed in humanized mouse models. Together these results have challenged the hypothesis that the infection of T/NK cells per se by EBV could be a triggering event for lymphomagenesis. Extranodal NK/T-cell lymphoma (ENKTCL) and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-positive nodal T- and NK-cell lymphoma (NKTCL) are two EBV-associated lymphomas of T/NK cells. These two lymphomas display different clinical, histological and molecular features. However, they share two intriguing characteristics: the association with EBV and a geographical prevalence in East Asia and Latin America. In this review we will discuss the genetic characteristics of EBV in order to understand the possible role of this virus in the oncogenesis of ENKTCL and NKTCL. In addition, the main immunohistological, molecular, cytogenetic and epigenetic differences between ENKTCL and NKTCL will be discussed, as well as EBV differences in latency patterns and other viral molecular characteristics.

GMP development and preclinical validation of CAR-T cells targeting a lytic EBV antigen for therapy of EBV-associated malignancies

Introduction

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is a widely spread pathogen associated with lymphoproliferative diseases, B/ T/ NK cell lymphomas, nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) and gastric carcinoma (GC). EBV lytic reactivations contribute to the genomic instability, inflammation and tumorigenesis of NPC, promoting cancer progression. Patients with NPC refractory to standard therapies show dismal survival. EBV gp350 is an envelope protein detectable in NPC specimens intracellularly and on the cell membrane of malignant cells, and is a potential viral antigen for T cell-directed immunotherapies. The potency of T cells engineered with a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) targeting gp350 against EBV⁺ lymphoproliferative disease was previously shown.

Methods

Here, we advanced towards preclinical and non-clinical developments of this virus-specific CAR-T cell immunotherapy against NPC. Different gp350CAR designs were inserted into a lentiviral vector (LV) backbone.

Results

A construct expressing the scFv 7A1-anti-gp350 incorporating the CD8 transmembrane and CD28.CD3ζ signaling domain (ZT002) was selected. High titer ZT002 (~1x10⁸ TU/ml) was manufactured in HEK 293T/17 suspension cells in serum free media as large-scale production under good manufacturing practices (GMP). A LV multiplicity of infection (MOI) of 1 resulted in high frequencies of functional gp350CAR⁺ T cells (>70%) at a low (<2) vector copy numbers in the genome. ZT002 was therefore used to establish gp350CAR-T batch run production methods. GMP upscaling and validation of T cell transduction and expansion in several runs resulted in average 3x10⁹ gp350CAR-T cells per batch. >80% CD3⁺ gp350CAR-T cells bound to purified gp350 protein. In vitro cytotoxicity and cytokine secretion assays (IFN-γ and TNF-α) confirmed the specificity of gp350CAR-T cells against gp350⁺ NPC, GC and lymphoma cell targets. Immunocompromised B-NDG mice (NOD.CB17-PrkdcscidIl2rgtm1/Bcgen) were challenged s.c. with a EBV⁺ NPC C666.1 cell line expressing gp350 and then treated with escalating doses of gp350CAR-T cells or with non-transduced T cells. gp350CAR-T cells promoted antitumor responses, bio-distributed in several tissues, infiltrated in tumors and rejected gp350⁺ tumor cells.

Discussion

These results support the use of gp350CAR-T cells generated with ZT002 as an Innovative New Drug to treat patients with solid and liquid EBV-associated malignancies.

Cyclophilin A binds to AKT1 and facilitates the tumorigenicity of Epstein-Barr virus by mediating the activation of AKT/mTOR/NF-κB positive feedback loop

The AKT/mTOR and NF-κB signalings are crucial pathways activated in cancers including nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), which is prevalent in southern China and closely related to Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection. How these master pathways are persistently activated in EBV-associated NPC remains to be investigated. Here we demonstrated that EBV-encoded latent membrane protein 1 (LMP1) promoted cyclophilin A (CYPA) expression through the activation of NF-κB. The depletion of CYPA suppressed cell proliferation and facilitated apoptosis. CYPA was able to bind to AKT1, thus activating AKT/mTOR/NF-κB signaling cascade. Moreover, the use of mTOR inhibitor, rapamycin, subverted the activation of the positive feedback loop, NF-κB/CYPA/AKT/mTOR. It is reasonable that LMP1 expression derived from initial viral infection is enough to assure the constant potentiation of AKT/mTOR and NF-κB signalings. This may partly explain the fact that EBV serves as a tumor-promoting factor with minimal expression of the viral oncoprotein LMP1 in malignancies. Our findings provide new insight into the understanding of causative role of EBV in tumorigenicity during latent infection.

Andrographolide Inhibits Epstein–Barr Virus Lytic Reactivation in EBV-Positive Cancer Cell Lines through the Modulation of Epigenetic-Related Proteins

Reactivation of Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) is associated with EBV-associated malignancies and is considered to be a benefit target for treatment. Andrographolide is claimed to have antiviral and anti-tumor activities. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the effect of andrographolide on the inhibition of EBV lytic reactivation in EBV-positive cancer cells. The cytotoxicity of andrographolide was firstly evaluated in EBV-positive cancer cells; P3HR1, AGS-EBV and HONE1-EBV cells, using an MTT assay. Herein, the spontaneous expression of EBV lytic genes; BALF5, BRLF1 and BZLF1, was significantly inhibited in andrographolide-treated cells. Accordingly, andrographolide inhibited the expression of Zta and viral production in sodium butyrate (NaB)-induced EBV lytic reactivation. Additionally, proteomics and bioinformatics analysis revealed the differentially expressed proteins that inhibit EBV lytic reactivation in all treated cell lines were functionally related with the histone modifications and chromatin organization, such as histone H3-K9 modification and histone H3-K27 methylation. Taken together, andrographolide inhibits EBV reactivation in EBV-positive cancer cells by inhibiting EBV lytic genes, probably, through the histone modifications.

Association between solid fuel use and seropositivity against Epstein-Barr virus in a high-risk area for nasopharyngeal carcinoma

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is one of the risk factors of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), and understanding the modifiable risk factors of EBV activation is crucial in the prevention of NPC. In this study, we aimed to investigate the association between solid fuel use and EBV seropositivity in a high-risk area of NPC. Our study was based on the baseline findings from an ongoing population-based prospective cohort in Sihui county in Southern China. We explored the association between current use of solid fuel in cooking and EBV seropositivity, and NPC-related EBV activation, using logistic regression models. Stratification analyses were further conducted to assess potential effect modifiers. We also examined the impact of frequency and duration of solid fuel use, and switch in fuel types, on EBV seropositivity among ever users. Of the 12,579 participants included in our analysis, 4088 (32.5%) were EBV seropositive and 421 (3.3%) were high risk for NPC-related EBV activation. Solid fuel use was associated with a higher risk of EBV seropositivity and NPC-related EBV activation, with odds ratios (ORs) of 1.33 (95%CI: 1.01, 1.76) and 1.81 (95%CI: 1.03, 3.18), respectively. Higher risk of EBV seropositivity was observed for those who did not use ventilation apparatus and those who consumed salted food. Among ever users, OR was highest for participants with more than 40 years of solid fuel exposure (1.17, 95%CI: 1.00-1.37) and who have been constantly using solid fuel (1.30, 95%CI: 0.96-1.75). We did not find a statistically significant impact of cooking frequency on EBV seropositivity. The identification of solid fuel as a risk factor for EBV activation is of great value for understanding the etiology of NPC. Our findings also have important public health implications given the fact that a third of the global population still lack access to clean cooking, especially in low resource settings.

Andrographolide Inhibits Lytic Reactivation of Epstein-Barr Virus by Modulating Transcription Factors in Gastric Cancer

Andrographolide is the principal bioactive chemical constituent of Andrographis paniculata and exhibits activity against several viruses, including Epstein–Barr virus (EBV). However, the particular mechanism by which andrographolide exerts an anti-EBV effect in EBV-associated gastric cancer (EBVaGC) cells remains unclear. We investigated the molecular mechanism by which andrographolide inhibits lytic reactivation of EBV in EBVaGC cells (AGS-EBV cell line) using proteomics and bioinformatics approaches. An andrographolide treatment altered EBV protein-expression patterns in AGS-EBV cells by suppressing the expression of EBV lytic protein. Interestingly cellular transcription factors (TFs), activators for EBV lytic reactivation, such as MEF2D and SP1, were significantly abolished in AGS-EBV cells treated with andrographolide and sodium butyrate (NaB) compared with NaB-treated cells. In contrast, the suppressors of EBV lytic reactivation, such as EZH2 and HDAC6, were significantly up-regulated in cells treated with both andrographolide and NaB compared with NaB treatment alone. In addition, bioinformatics predicted that HDAC6 could interact directly with MEF2D and SP1. Furthermore, andrographolide significantly induced cell cytotoxicity and apoptosis of AGS-EBV cells by induction of apoptosis-related protein expression. Our results suggest that andrographolide inhibits EBV lytic reactivation by inhibition of host TFs, partially through the interaction of HDAC6 with TFs, and induces apoptosis of EBVaGC cells.

Molecular Basis of Epstein-Barr Virus Latency Establishment and Lytic Reactivation

Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) is a causative agent of infectious mononucleosis and several types of cancer. Like other herpesviruses, it establishes an asymptomatic, life-long latent infection, with occasional reactivation and shedding of progeny viruses. During latency, EBV expresses a small number of viral genes, and exists as an episome in the host–cell nucleus. Expression patterns of latency genes are dependent on the cell type, time after infection, and milieu of the cell (e.g., germinal center or peripheral blood). Upon lytic induction, expression of the viral immediate-early genes, BZLF1 and BRLF1, are induced, followed by early gene expression, viral DNA replication, late gene expression, and maturation and egress of progeny virions. Furthermore, EBV reactivation involves more than just progeny production. The EBV life cycle is regulated by signal transduction, transcription factors, promoter sequences, epigenetics, and the 3D structure of the genome. In this article, the molecular basis of EBV latency establishment and reactivation is summarized.

A comprehensive analysis of genetic diversity of EBV reveals potential high-risk subtypes associated with nasopharyngeal carcinoma in China

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), a widespread oncovirus, is associated with multiple cancers including nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), gastric cancer and diverse lymphoid malignancies. Recent studies reveal that specific EBV strains or subtypes are associated with NPC development in endemic regions. However, these NPC specific subtypes were only identified in a portion of infected individuals due possibly to the limited samples size studied or the complicated population structures of the virus. To identify additional high-risk EBV subtypes, we conducted a comprehensive genetic analysis of 22 critical viral proteins by using the largest dataset of 628 EBV genomes and 792 sequences of single target genes/proteins from GenBank. The phylogenetic, principal component and genetic structure analyses of these viral proteins were performed through worldwide populations. In addition to the general Asia-Western/Africa geographic segregation, population structure analysis showed a 'Chinese-unique' cluster (96.57% isolates from China) was highly enriched in the NPC patients, compared to the healthy individuals (89.6% vs. 44.5%, P < 0.001). The newly identified EBV subtypes, which contains four Chinese-specific NPC-associated amino acid substitutions (BALF2 V317M, BNRF1 G696R, V1222I and RPMS1 D51E), showed a robust positive association with the risk of NPC in China (Odds Ratio = 4.80, 20.00, 18.24 and 32.00 for 1, 2, 3 and 4 substitutions, respectively, P _trend <0.001). Interestingly, the coincidence of positively selected sites with NPC-associated substitutions suggests that adaptive nonsynonymous mutation on critical proteins, such as BNRF1, may interact with host immune system and contribute to the carcinogenesis of NPC. Our findings provide a comprehensive overview of EBV genetic structure for worldwide populations and offer novel clues to EBV carcinogenesis from the aspect of evolution.

Partial absence of PD-1 expression by tumor-infiltrating EBV-specific CD8+ T cells in EBV-driven lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma

Objectives

Lymphoepithelioma‐like carcinoma (LELC) is an uncommon lung cancer, typically observed in young, non‐smoking Asian populations. LELC is associated with Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) infection of lung tumor cells of epithelial origin, suggesting a carcinogenic role of EBV as observed in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Here, we studied the antigen specificity and phenotype of EBV‐specific CD8⁺ T cells in blood and tumor of one LELC patient positive for EBV infection in lung tumor cells.

Methods

Using multiplex MHC class I tetramers, mass cytometry and mRNA sequencing, we studied EBV‐specific CD8⁺ T cells at the transcriptomic and phenotypic levels in blood and tumor tissues of the LELC patient.

Results

Lymphoepithelioma‐like carcinoma lung tumor cells were positive for EBV infection. In both blood and tumor tissues, we detected two populations of EBV‐specific CD8⁺ T cells targeting the EBV lytic cycle proteins: BRLF1 and BMLF1. Transcriptomic analyses of these two populations in the tumor, which can be considered as tumor‐specific, revealed their distinct exhausted profile and polyclonal TCR repertoire. High‐dimensional phenotypical analysis revealed the distinct phenotype of these cells between blood and tumor tissues. In tumor tissue, EBV‐specific CD8⁺ TILs were phenotypically heterogeneous, but consistently expressed CD39. Unexpectedly, although the LELC tumor cells expressed abundant PD‐L1, these tumor‐specific CD8⁺ tumor‐infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) mostly did not express PD‐1.

Conclusion

Epstein–Barr virus‐specific CD8⁺ TILs in EBV‐driven tumor are heterogeneous and partially lack PD‐1 expression, suggesting that anti‐PD1/PD‐L1 immunotherapy may not be an appropriate strategy for disinhibiting EBV‐specific cells in the treatment of LELC patients.

Association Between Environmental Factors and Oral Epstein-Barr Virus DNA Loads: A Multicenter Cross-sectional Study in China

Background

Oral Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) status reflects host EBV activity and potentially links to EBV-associated diseases, however, factors influencing oral EBV loads or reactivation, such as environmental exposures or host factors, are not fully understood.

Methods

A 2-stage, multicenter, cross-sectional study of 6558 subjects from 21 administrative cities of southern China and 3 populations from representative geographical areas in China (referred to as the south, north, and northeastern populations) was performed. The relationships between demographical factors and environmental exposures to EBV loads were analyzed by logistic regression models.

Results

Current smoking, with a dose-response effect, was found to be strongly associated with higher oral EBV loads in the pooled data, with an odds ratio of 1.58 (95% confidence interval, 1.39-1.79), as well as in each of the separate populations. The odds ratio increased to 3.06 when current smokers in southern China were compared to never smokers in northern China. Additionally, higher oral EBV loads tended to be detected in older participants, male participants, and participants in southern China.

Conclusions

This study provided evidence linking the effect of host-environmental factors, particularly smoking, to oral EBV activity. It could strengthen our understanding of the possible causal roles of EBV-related diseases, which may help to prevent or mitigate EBV-associated diseases.

Dipyridamole as a new drug to prevent Epstein-Barr virus reactivation

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is a widely distributed gamma-herpesvirus that has been associated with various cancers mainly from lymphocytic and epithelial origin. Although EBV-mediated oncogenesis has been associated with viral oncogenes expressed during latency, a growing set of evidence suggested that antiviral treatments directed against EBV lytic phase may contribute to prevent some forms of cancers, including EBV-positive Post-Transplant Lymphoproliferative Diseases. It is shown here that dipyridamole (DIP), a safe drug with favorable and broad pharmacological properties, inhibits EBV reactivation from B-cell lines. DIP repressed immediate early and early genes expression mostly through its ability to inhibit nucleoside uptake. Considering its wide clinical use, DIP repurposing could shortly be evaluated, alone or in combination with other antivirals, to treat EBV-related diseases where lytic replication plays a deleterious role.

Chinese nonmedicinal herbal diet and risk of nasopharyngeal carcinoma: A population-based case-control study

BACKGROUND

An association between a nonmedicinal herbal diet and nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) has often been hypothesized but never thoroughly investigated.

METHODS

This study enrolled a total of 2469 patients with incident NPC and 2559 population controls from parts of Guangdong and Guangxi Provinces in southern China between 2010 and 2014. Questionnaire information was collected on the intake of traditional herbal tea and herbal soup as well as the specific herbal plants used in soups and other potentially confounding lifestyle factors. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the NPC risk in association with herbal tea and soup intake.

RESULTS

Ever consumption of herbal tea was not associated with NPC risk (OR, 1.03; 95% CI, 0.91-1.17). An inverse association was observed for NPC among ever drinkers of herbal soup (OR, 0.78; 95% CI, 0.67-0.90) but without any monotonic trend with an increasing frequency or duration of herbal soup consumption. Inverse associations with NPC risk were detected with 9 herbal plants used in herbal soup, including Ziziphus jujuba, Fructus lycii, Codonopsis pilosula, Astragalus membranaceus, Semen coicis, Smilax glabra, Phaseolus calcaratus, Morinda officinalis, and Atractylodes macrocephala (OR range, 0.31-0.79).

CONCLUSIONS

Consuming herbal soups including specific plants, but not herbal tea, was inversely associated with NPC. If replicated, these results might provide potential for NPC prevention in endemic areas.

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) reactivation and therapeutic inhibitors

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is a ubiquitous human virus which infects almost all humans during their lifetime and following the acute phase, persists for the remainder of the life of the individual. EBV infects B lymphocytes leading to their immortalisation, with persistence of the EBV genome as an episome. In the latent phase, EBV is prevented from reactivating through efficient cytotoxic cellular immunity. EBV reactivates (lytic phase) under conditions of psychological stress with consequent weakening of cellular immunity, and EBV reactivation has been shown to occur in a subset of individuals with each of a variety of cancers, autoimmune diseases, the autoimmune-like disease, chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalitis and under other circumstances such as being an inpatient in an intensive care unit. Chronic EBV reactivation is an important mechanism in the pathogenesis of many such diseases, yet is rarely tested for in immunocompetent individuals. This review summarises the pathogenesis of EBV infection, EBV reactivation and its role in disease, and methods which may be used to detect it. Known inhibitors of EBV reactivation and replication are discussed, including drugs licensed for treatment of other herpesviruses, licensed or experimental drugs for various other indications, compounds at an early stage of drug development and nutritional constituents such as vitamins and dietary supplements.

Taurine exhibits an apoptosis-inducing effect on human nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells through PTEN/Akt pathways in vitro

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a distinctive type of head and neck malignancy with a high incidence in southern China. Previous studies have confirmed that taurine shows an anti-cancer effect on a variety of human tumors by inhibiting cell proliferation and inducing apoptosis. However, the underlying molecular mechanism of its anti-cancer effect on NPC is not well understood. To clarify these anti-cancer mechanisms, we performed cell viability and colony formation assays. Apoptotic cells were quantified by flow cytometry. The expression levels of apoptosis-related proteins were evaluated by Western blot. The results showed that taurine markedly inhibited cell proliferation in NPC cells, but only slightly in an immortalized normal nasopharyngeal cell line. Taurine suppressed colony formation and induced apoptosis of NPC cell lines in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, taurine increased the active form of caspase-9/3 in a dose-dependent manner. Taurine down-regulated the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-xL and up-regulated the pro-apoptotic protein Bax and GRP78, a major endoplasmic reticulum (ER) chaperone. These results suggest the involvement of mitochondrial and ER stress signaling in apoptosis. In addition, taurine increased the levels of PTEN (phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome 10) and p53, and reduced phosphorylated Akt (protein kinase B). In conclusion, taurine may inhibit cell proliferation and induce apoptosis in NPC through PTEN activation with concomitant Akt inactivation.