DNA OF LYMPHOMA-ASSOCIATED HERPESVIRUS (HVMF1) IN SIV-INFECTED MONKEYS (MACACA-FASCICULARIS) SHOWS HOMOLOGIES TO EBNA-1, EBNA-2 AND EBNA-5 GENES

We have characterized a new Epstein-Barr-virus(EBV)-like herpesvirus a ssociated with lymphomas of SIV-infected cynomolgus (Macaca fascicular is) monkeys and propose that this virus is designated herpesvirus maca ca fascicularis 1 (HVMF1). genomic regions in HVMF1 of potential signi ficance for tumor pathogenesis were analyzed by Southern blotting, PCR and sequencing, and compared with human EBV DNA. Virus from 7 SIV-ass ociated lymphomas and one lymphoma-derived cell line were shown to sha re homology with the EBNA1- and EBNA2- coding regions of EBV, while so me homology to EBV-LMP1 was detectable only at low-stringency hybridiz ation. Homologous regions to the long internal repeat (IR1;BamHI W), t he EBER1 and 2 and the latent origin of DNA replication (oriP) could a lso be demonstrated in HVMF1. These coding regions, except IR1, showed restriction-enzyme maps different from those of EBV. Sequencing of th e EBNA5 homologous region of HVMF1 DNA, corresponding to exons W1 and W2, showed 65% homology to the EBV exons W1 and W2, and 80% to the who le region including the intron. Since EBNA5 has been reported to bind tumor-suppressor proteins p53 and Rb in vitro, the HVMF1 homology coul d be important for the lymphomagenic capacity of this monkey herpesvir us. (C) 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.