Spatial Dispersal of Epstein–Barr Virus in South America Reveals an African American Variant in Brazilian Lymphomas
Paula Alves,
Marcella Larrate,
Aruanã Garcia-Costa,
Paulo Rohan,
Bianca Ervatti Gama,
Eliana Abdelhay,
Edson Delatorre,
Rocio Hassan
Affiliations
Paula Alves
Laboratório de Oncovirologia, Centro de Transplante de Medula Óssea, Instituto Nacional de Câncer “José Alencar Gomes da Silva” (INCA), Ministério da Saúde, Rio de Janeiro 20230-130, Brazil
Marcella Larrate
Laboratório de Oncovirologia, Centro de Transplante de Medula Óssea, Instituto Nacional de Câncer “José Alencar Gomes da Silva” (INCA), Ministério da Saúde, Rio de Janeiro 20230-130, Brazil
Aruanã Garcia-Costa
Laboratório de Oncovirologia, Centro de Transplante de Medula Óssea, Instituto Nacional de Câncer “José Alencar Gomes da Silva” (INCA), Ministério da Saúde, Rio de Janeiro 20230-130, Brazil
Paulo Rohan
Laboratório de Oncovirologia, Centro de Transplante de Medula Óssea, Instituto Nacional de Câncer “José Alencar Gomes da Silva” (INCA), Ministério da Saúde, Rio de Janeiro 20230-130, Brazil
Bianca Ervatti Gama
Laboratório de Oncovirologia, Centro de Transplante de Medula Óssea, Instituto Nacional de Câncer “José Alencar Gomes da Silva” (INCA), Ministério da Saúde, Rio de Janeiro 20230-130, Brazil
Eliana Abdelhay
Laboratório de Células Tronco, Centro de Transplante de Medula Óssea, Instituto Nacional de Câncer “José Alencar Gomes da Silva” (INCA), Ministério da Saúde, Rio de Janeiro 20230-130, Brazil
Edson Delatorre
Departamento de Biologia, Centro de Ciências Exatas, Naturais e da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, Alegre 29500-000, Brazil
Rocio Hassan
Laboratório de Oncovirologia, Centro de Transplante de Medula Óssea, Instituto Nacional de Câncer “José Alencar Gomes da Silva” (INCA), Ministério da Saúde, Rio de Janeiro 20230-130, Brazil
Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) is a saliva-borne ɣ-herpesvirus associated with benign and malignant lymphoproliferation. EBV-mediated tumorigenic mechanisms are not fully understood and may be related to viral genetic variations. In this work, we characterize the genetic diversity of EBV from Brazil, assessing 82 samples derived from saliva from asymptomatic carriers (n = 45), biopsies of benign reactive hyperplasia (n = 4), and lymphomas (n = 33). Phylogenetic and phylogeographic analysis of the entire coding region of the LMP-1 was performed. Additionally, type 1/type 2 distinction by the EBNA3C gene and Zp variants were evaluated. Our results revealed a high diversity of EBV in Brazil, with the co-circulation of four main clades, described here as: Mediterranean (40.2%, n = 33), Raji/Argentine (39%, n = 32), B95-8 (6.1%, n = 5), and Asian II (1.2%, n = 1). The Raji/Argentine and Mediterranean clades were the most prevalent in South America (45% and 28%, respectively). The Raji/Argentine clade was associated with polymorphisms I124V/I152L, del30 bp, and ins15 bp (p p = 0.1). These data highlight the high genetic diversity of EBV circulating in Brazil, calling attention to a Raji-related variant with great recombination potential in Brazilian lymphomas.
