Genome Sequencing Analysis Identifies Epstein-Barr Virus Subtypes Associated with High Risk of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma

Overview

Journal Nat Genet

Specialty Genetics

Date 2019 Jun 19

PMID 31209392

Citations 103

Authors

Miao Xu

Youyuan Yao

Hui Chen

Shanshan Zhang

Su-Mei Cao

Zhe Zhang

Bing Luo

Zhiwei Liu

Zilin Li

Tong Xiang

Guiping He

Qi-Sheng Feng

Li-Zhen Chen

Xiang Guo

Wei-Hua Jia

Ming-Yuan Chen

Xiao Zhang

Shang-Hang Xie

Roujun Peng

Ellen T Chang

Vincent Pedergnana

Lin Feng

Jin-Xin Bei

Rui-Hua Xu

Mu-Sheng Zeng

Weimin Ye

Hans-Olov Adami

Xihong Lin

Weiwei Zhai

Yi-Xin Zeng

Jianjun Liu

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection is ubiquitous worldwide and is associated with multiple cancers, including nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). The importance of EBV viral genomic variation in NPC development and its striking epidemic in southern China has been poorly explored. Through large-scale genome sequencing of 270 EBV isolates and two-stage association study of EBV isolates from China, we identify two non-synonymous EBV variants within BALF2 that are strongly associated with the risk of NPC (odds ratio (OR) = 8.69, P = 9.69 × 10 for SNP 162476_C; OR = 6.14, P = 2.40 × 10 for SNP 163364_T). The cumulative effects of these variants contribute to 83% of the overall risk of NPC in southern China. Phylogenetic analysis of the risk variants reveals a unique origin in Asia, followed by clonal expansion in NPC-endemic regions. Our results provide novel insights into the NPC endemic in southern China and also enable the identification of high-risk individuals for NPC prevention.

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