PRESENCE OF EPSTEIN-BARR-VIRUS GENOME IN THE BONE-MARROW OF PATIENTS WITH HEMATOPOIETIC MALIGNANCIES

The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) genome was detected by polymerase chain r eaction (PCR in mononuclear cells from bone marrows with diverse types of hematopoietic malignancies. Viral repeated sequences (BamHI-W regi on) were detected in 42 of 82 (51%) hematopoietic malignancies, includ ing polycythemia vera, but not in nonneoplastic cases. EBV-positive ca ses were found to consist of various histological types. We did not de tect any EBV PCR product in the peripheral blood. The EBV BamHI-Y, -H region, encoding EBV nuclear antigen 2 DNA, which is a single-copy gen e in the viral genome, was detected in only 13 of 42 BamHI-W-positive cases, suggesting that the copy number of the EBV genome differed in e ach case. In all cases, the PCR band was verified by Southern blot hyb ridization using specific EBV probes. Whether the infected virus is an etiologic agent of the malignancy or merely a latent infection cannot be determined by the PCR assay performed under these conditions. Thes e results, however, suggest that a novel form of EBV latent infection is present in the bone marrow of patients with hematopoietic malignanc ies.