scholarly journals Establishment of a Screening Method for Epstein-Barr Virus-Associated Gastric Carcinoma by Droplet Digital PCR

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (12) ◽  
pp. 628 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takuya Shuto ◽  
Jun Nishikawa ◽  
Kanami Shimokuri ◽  
Ayaka Yanagi ◽  
Tatsuya Takagi ◽  
...  

Background: Epstein-Barr virus-associated gastric carcinoma (EBVaGC) is classified as one of the molecular subtypes of gastric cancer. We used droplet digital polymerase chain reaction (ddPCR) to enable highly sensitive and quantitative detection of EBV. Methods: EBV-DNA load was calculated based on the copy number of the BamH1-W fragment of EBV by ddPCR, and the cut-off value of EBV-DNA load was set. We conducted both ddPCR and EBER1 ISH to examine whether their results coincided in 158 gastric cancer specimens of unknown EBV status. We prepared 26 biopsy specimens and 49 serum samples including EBVaGC and assayed them by ddPCR. Results: The median values of EBV-DNA load for EBVaGC and EBV-negative control were 17.0 and 0.00308, respectively. A cut-off value of 0.032 was determined for which the sensitivity was 1. Among the 158 gastric cancer specimens, 14 lesions were judged as EBV-positive by the 0.032 cut-off value determined by ddPCR. The results of ddPCR and EBER1 ISH were in complete agreement. Even when using a biopsy specimen as a sample for ddPCR, the EBV-DNA load of all EBVaGCs was larger than the cut-off value. Conclusions: We established a new method of diagnosing EBVaGC from tissue samples by ddPCR.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shimeng Liang ◽  
Weibing Leng ◽  
Dan Jiang ◽  
Ming Liu ◽  
Dan Cao ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Immunotherapy has revolutionized the treatment of malignant tumors. However, limited clinical data are available to report the efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) on Epstein-Barr virus-associated gastric carcinoma. Methods In this study, we report a case series of five patients with metastatic Epstein-Barr virus-associated gastric carcinoma who were treated with ICIs and to perform a pooled analysis of published cases to investigate the efficacy of ICIs in Epstein-Barr virus-associated gastric carcinoma patients. Results Between 2018 and 2020, five metastatic gastric cancer patients with EBV positivity who received PD-1 antibodies treatment were included in the analysis at the authors’ institution. Furthermore, we performed a pooled analysis of the contemporary literature. In our case series, two patients experienced partial response (PR); one patient achieved complete response (CR), whereas two patients had progression disease (PD), resulting an ORR of 60%. In the pooled analysis of all 36 patients, ORR was 48.6% (17/35). For the first line and later lines, it was 75% (3/4) and 45.2% (14/31) respectively. The ORR was 46.7% (14/30) for ICIs monotherapy and improved to 60% (3/5) by combination with chemotherapy. Conclusions These results demonstrated that an EBV-positive status was a reliable biomarker for immunotherapy in metastatic gastric cancer, especially for monotherapy. Immunotherapy combined with chemotherapy may be a better strategy, warranting further large-scale clinical trials for validation.


Blood ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 97 (5) ◽  
pp. 1165-1171 ◽  
Author(s):  
Servi J. C. Stevens ◽  
Erik A. M. Verschuuren ◽  
Inge Pronk ◽  
Wim van der Bij ◽  
Martin C. Harmsen ◽  
...  

Posttransplant lymphoproliferative disease (PTLD) is a frequent and severe Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)–associated complication in transplantation recipients that is caused by iatrogenic suppression of T-cell function. The diagnostic value of weekly EBV DNA load monitoring was investigated in prospectively collected unfractionated whole blood and serum samples of lung transplantation (LTx) recipients with and without PTLD. In PTLD patients, 78% of tested whole blood samples were above the cut-off value of quantitative competitive polymerase chain reaction (Q-PCR) (greater than 2000 EBV DNA copies per mL blood), with the majority of patients having high viral loads before and at PTLD diagnosis. Especially in a primary EBV-infected patient and in patients with conversion of immunosuppressive treatment, rapid increases in peripheral blood EBV DNA load diagnosed and predicted PTLD. In non-PTLD transplantation recipients, only 3.4% of the whole blood samples was above the cut-off value (P < .0001) despite heavy immune suppression and cytomegalovirus (CMV)-related disease. These findings illustrate the clinical importance of frequent EBV DNA load monitoring in LTx recipients. The increased EBV DNA loads in PTLD patients were restricted to the cellular blood compartment, as parallel serum samples were all below cut-off value, which indicates absence of lytic viral replication. EBV+ cells in PTLD patients have a very short doubling time, which can be as low as 56 hours, thereby creating the need for high screening frequency in high-risk patients. Furthermore, it is shown that EBV and CMV can reactivate independently in LTx recipients and that EBV DNA load monitoring may be useful in discriminating PTLD from rejection.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 258 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jae Hee Yoon ◽  
Kyoungmi Min ◽  
Suk Kyeong Lee

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infects more than 90% of the global population and is associated with a variety of tumors including nasopharyngeal carcinoma, Hodgkin lymphoma, natural killer/T lymphoma, and gastric carcinoma. In EBV-associated gastric cancer (EBVaGC), highly expressed EBV BamHI A rightward transcripts (BART) miRNAs may contribute to tumorigenesis with limited viral antigens. Despite previous studies on the targets of BART miRNAs, the functions of all 44 BART miRNAs have not been fully clarified. Here, we used RNA sequencing data from the Cancer Genome Atlas to find genes with decreased expression in EBVaGC. Furthermore, we used AGS cells infected with EBV to determine whether expression was reduced by BART miRNA. We showed that the expression of Kruppel-like factor 2 (KLF2) is lower in AGS-EBV cells than in the AGS control. Using bioinformatics analysis, four BART miRNAs were selected to check whether they suppress KLF2 expression. We found that only miR-BART17-5p directly down-regulated KLF2 and promoted gastric carcinoma cell migration and anchorage-independent growth. Our data suggest that KLF2 functions as a tumor suppressor in EBVaGC and that miR-BART17-5p may be a valuable target for effective EBVaGC treatment.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (11) ◽  
pp. 1776
Author(s):  
Munetoshi Hinata ◽  
Akiko Kunita ◽  
Hiroyuki Abe ◽  
Yasuyuki Morishita ◽  
Kei Sakuma ◽  
...  

The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-associated gastric carcinoma (EBVaGC) is characterized by the infiltration of lymphocytes and a unique tumor microenvironment. Exosomes from cancer cells are essential for intercellular communication. The aims of this study were to investigate the secretion of EBVaGC exosomes and their physiological effect on dendritic cell maturation in vitro and to characterize dendritic cells (DCs) in EBVaGC in vivo. Western blotting analysis of CD63 and CD81 of exosomes from EBV-infected gastric cancer cell lines indicated an increase in exosome secretion. The fraction of monocyte-derived DCs positive for the maturation marker CD86 was significantly suppressed when incubated with exosomes from EBV-infected gastric cancer cell lines. Immunohistochemical analysis of GC tissues expressing DC markers (S100, Langerin, CD1a, CD83, CD86, and BDCA-2) indicated that the density of DCs was generally higher in EBVaGC than in EBV-negative GC, although the numbers of CD83- and CD86-positive DCs were decreased in the group with high numbers of CD1a-positive DCs. A low number of CD83-positive DCs was marginally correlated with worse prognosis of EBVaGC in patients. EBVaGC is a tumor with abundant DCs, including immature and mature DCs. Moreover, the maturation of DCs is suppressed by exosomes from EBV-infected epithelial cells.


2019 ◽  
Vol 57 (5) ◽  
pp. 759-765 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wang Kedi ◽  
Xu Dongjiang ◽  
Lv Zhi ◽  
Gao Yan ◽  
Jia Kun ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) DNA load monitoring in blood is essential for the diagnosis of EBV-associated diseases. However, the best-suited blood compartment for detection is still under discussion. The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic value of EBV-DNA load in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC), plasma and whole blood (WB) samples. Methods A total of 156 patients, including 45 patients with infectious mononucleosis (IM), 57 patients with EBV-associated hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) and 54 patients with post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorders (PTLD), were enrolled in this study. The EBV-DNA load in PBMC, plasma and WB samples were measured with real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Results EBV-DNA load of patients with HLH showed no statistical difference in PBMC, plasma and WB samples, while patients with IM and PTLD showed a higher viral load in PBMC samples. The strongest correlation of EBV-DNA level was found between PBMC and WB samples among patients with IM, HLH and PTLD. The follow-up of EBV-DNA showed that the viral load became negative along with the recovery from the disease, while that in WB and PBMC would remain positive for a long time. Conclusions For the diagnosis and monitoring of EBV-DNA, the type of specimen should be chosen reasonably according to the disease. As for IM and HLH, plasma is recommended to quantify the EBV-DNA load, while PBMC and plasma are preferred in PTLD.


2019 ◽  
Vol 54 (2) ◽  
pp. 85-90
Author(s):  
Maciej Przybylski ◽  
Anna Majewska ◽  
Natalia Żeber-Lubecka ◽  
Grażyna Młynarczyk ◽  
Tomasz Dzieciątkowski

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of normalization with 1<sup>st</sup> International WHO Standard for Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) on EBV DNA quantitation in 90 clinical serum samples obtained from hematopoietic stem cells transplant recipients. Methods: EBV DNA loads (EDLs) obtained with the use of six different commercially available and in-house developed assays, including various automated DNA extraction systems, real-time PCR tests and cyclers were compared, both before and after recalculation with conversion factors obtained with 1st International WHO Standard for Epstein-Barr Virus Results: None of six methods was able to detect EBV DNA in all 80 serum samples identified previously as positive but the most effective method turned out to be combination of MagnaPure, LC2.0 and EBV QK (sensitivity 90%). Conversion factors for compared assays, obtained with the WHO standards ranged from 0.998 (MagnaPure/LC2.0/EBV QK) to 1.138 (MagnaPure/LC2.0/<I>In house</I>). In two out of four comparisons, differences in the average EDLs, initially significant, have changed to statistically not significant after conversion to IU/mL. Conclusions: Positive impact of EDLs standardization was shown, resulting in lower discrepancies between average values obtained with various methods. Method-to-method variability was lower for samples with a higher EDLs (>3.5 log), regardless the units used. Results showed the advantage of certain commercial methods over “in-house” method.


Cells ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (10) ◽  
pp. 1220 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoon ◽  
Kim ◽  
Long ◽  
Min ◽  
Kim ◽  
...  

The metabolic landscape of Epstein–Barr-virus-associated gastric cancer (EBVaGC) remains to be elucidated. In this study, we used transcriptomics, metabolomics, and lipidomics to comprehensively investigate aberrant metabolism in EBVaGC. Specifically, we conducted gene expression analyses using microarray-based data from gastric adenocarcinoma epithelial cell lines and tissue samples from patients with clinically advanced gastric carcinoma. We also conducted complementary metabolomics and lipidomics using various mass spectrometry platforms. We found a significant downregulation of genes related to metabolic pathways, especially the metabolism of amino acids, lipids, and carbohydrates. The effect of dysregulated metabolic genes was confirmed in a survival analysis of 3951 gastric cancer patients. We found 57 upregulated metabolites and 31 metabolites that were downregulated in EBVaGC compared with EBV-negative gastric cancer. Sixty-nine lipids, mainly ether-linked phospholipids and triacylglycerols, were downregulated, whereas 45 lipids, mainly phospholipids, were upregulated. In total, 15 metabolisms related to polar metabolites and 15 lipid-associated pathways were involved in alteration of metabolites by EBV in gastric cancer. In this work, we have described the metabolic landscape of EBVaGC at the multi-omics level. These findings could help elucidate the mechanism of EBVaGC oncogenesis.


Cancers ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 167 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jun Nishikawa ◽  
Hisashi Iizasa ◽  
Hironori Yoshiyama ◽  
Kanami Shimokuri ◽  
Yuki Kobayashi ◽  
...  

Epstein–Barr virus-associated gastric carcinoma (EBVaGC) is the most common malignancy caused by EBV infection. EBVaGC has definite histological characteristics similar to gastric carcinoma with lymphoid stroma. Clinically, EBVaGC has a significantly low frequency of lymph node metastasis compared with EBV-negative gastric cancer, resulting in a better prognosis. The Cancer Genome Atlas of gastric adenocarcinomas proposed a molecular classification divided into four molecular subtypes: (1) EBVaGC; (2) microsatellite instability; (3) chromosomal instability; and (4) genomically stable tumors. EBVaGC harbors a DNA methylation phenotype, PD-L1 and PD-L2 overexpression, and frequent alterations in the PIK3CA gene. We review clinical importance of EBVaGC and discuss novel therapeutic applications for EBVaGC.


Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (17) ◽  
pp. 4252
Author(s):  
Sun Hee Lee ◽  
Su Jin Choi ◽  
Wonhyeok Choi ◽  
Subin Cho ◽  
Miyeon Cho ◽  
...  

Epstein–Barr-virus-associated gastric carcinoma (EBVaGC), first reported in 1992, currently accounts for 10% of all gastric carcinoma worldwide. EBVaGC has unique DNA hypermethylation phenotypes that allow for higher proportions of DNA methylation than any other gastric cancer. CpG islands in the gene promoter region are one of the major regions in which DNA methylation controls gene transcription. Despite cisplatin-based chemotherapy being one of the standard treatment regimens for advanced gastric cancer, including EBVaGC, cisplatin alone or in combination with 5-fluorouracil has been limited by its less potent anticancer activity and the occurrence of cisplatin resistance. Accordingly, the current study evaluated the anticancer activities of a combination of cisplatin and 5-Azacytidine (5-AZA) against EBVaGC. Our findings showed that cisplatin upregulated the DNMT3A gene, whereas shRNA-targeted removal of DNMT3A mRNA contributed to cisplatin-mediated EBV lytic reactivation. Moreover, the removal of DNMT3A mRNA upregulated the ATM gene through DNA demethylation on the ATM promoter. Furthermore, CRISPR/Cas9-targeted removal of the ATM gene resulted in significantly reduced cell susceptibility and EBV lytic reactivation by a combination of cisplatin and DNMT3A inhibitor 5-AZA. Finally, 5-AZA exhibited a synergistic effect with cisplatin in anti-EBV and anti-EBVaGC activities by increasing drug susceptibility and EBV lytic reactivation. The aforementioned results suggest that cisplatin combined with DNA methylation inhibitors could be a novel therapeutic approach for EBVaGC.


2020 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 106-111
Author(s):  
Anna Dworzanska ◽  
Malgorzata Strycharz-Dudziak ◽  
Jakub Dworzanski ◽  
Agnieszka Stec ◽  
Barbara Rajtar ◽  
...  

AbstractEpstein-Barr virus-associated gastric carcinoma (EBVaGC) is the most common malignancy caused by EBV infection. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) as major components of innate immune system are crucial in the development of inflammatory processes and carcinogenesis. The aim of our study was to evaluate tissue and serum level of TLR9 in EBV-positive and EBV-negative gastric cancer patients. The study involved 30 EBV(+) and 30 EBV(-) patients. EBV DNA was detected in fresh frozen tumor tissue. In serum samples TLR9 level, transforming growth factor β (TGFβ), interleukin 10 (IL-10) and antibodies against EBV were detected using ELISA tests. TLR9 level was also measured in homogenate of tumour tissue. TLR9 level was statistically lower in EBV(+) patients both in serum and tissue, with statistically higher level in tissue than in serum. Lower level of TLR9 was accompanied by higher level of Epstein-Barr virus capsid antigen (EBVCA), Epstein-Barr virus nuclear antigen (EBNA) and early antigen (EA). A lower level of TLR9 was detected in patients with poorly differentiated cancer (G3) and greater lymph nodes involvement (N3-N4). Lower level of TLR9 in patients with EA may point to TLR9 role in reactivation of EBV infection.


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