Project description:Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is an oncogenic virus that is associated with the pathogenesis of several human lymphoid malignancies, including Hodgkin's lymphoma. Infection of normal resting B cells with EBV results in activation to lymphoblasts that are phenotypically similar to those generated by physiological stimulation with CD40L plus IL-4. One important difference is that infection leads to the establishment of permanently growing lymphoblastoid cell lines, whereas CD40L/IL-4 blasts have finite proliferation life-spans. To identify early events which might later determine why EBV infected blasts go on to establish transformed cell lines, we performed global transcriptome analyses on resting B cells and on EBV and CD40L/IL-4 blasts after 7 days culture. As anticipated, there was considerable overlap in the transcriptomes of the two types of lymphoblasts when compared to the original resting B cells, reflecting common changes associated with lymphocyte activation and proliferation. Of interest to us was a subset of 225 genes that were differentially expressed between EBV and CD40/IL4- blasts. Genes which were more highly expressed in EBV blasts were substantially and significantly enriched for a set of interferon-stimulated genes which on further in silico analyses were found to be repressed by IL-4 in other cell contexts and to be up-regulated in micro-dissected malignant cells from Hodgkin's lymphoma biopsies when compared to their normal germinal center cell counter parts. We hypothesized that EBV and IL-4 were targeting and discordantly regulating a common set of genes. This was supported experimentally in our model where IL-4 stimulation partially reversed transcriptional changes which follow EBV infection and it impaired the efficiency of EBV-induced B cell transformation. Taken together, these data suggest that discordant regulation of interferon and IL-4 pathway genes by EBV that occurs early following infection of B cells has relevance to the development or maintenance of an EBV-associated malignancy. 9 samples were analysed and these included 3 biological replicates of the following samples: primary B cells isolated by positive selection using CD19+ Dynabeads and harvested immediately for RNA and primary B cells infected with EBV or stimulated with CD40L and IL4 and harvested 7 days post-infection/ cytokine stimulation. All biological replicates represent B cells which were pooled from 3 or 4 different buffy coat donors.

Project description:Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is an oncogenic virus that is associated with the pathogenesis of several human lymphoid malignancies, including Hodgkin's lymphoma. Infection of normal resting B cells with EBV results in activation to lymphoblasts that are phenotypically similar to those generated by physiological stimulation with CD40L plus IL-4. One important difference is that infection leads to the establishment of permanently growing lymphoblastoid cell lines, whereas CD40L/IL-4 blasts have finite proliferation life-spans. To identify early events which might later determine why EBV infected blasts go on to establish transformed cell lines, we performed global transcriptome analyses on resting B cells and on EBV and CD40L/IL-4 blasts after 7 days culture. As anticipated, there was considerable overlap in the transcriptomes of the two types of lymphoblasts when compared to the original resting B cells, reflecting common changes associated with lymphocyte activation and proliferation. Of interest to us was a subset of 225 genes that were differentially expressed between EBV and CD40/IL4- blasts. Genes which were more highly expressed in EBV blasts were substantially and significantly enriched for a set of interferon-stimulated genes which on further in silico analyses were found to be repressed by IL-4 in other cell contexts and to be up-regulated in micro-dissected malignant cells from Hodgkin's lymphoma biopsies when compared to their normal germinal center cell counter parts. We hypothesized that EBV and IL-4 were targeting and discordantly regulating a common set of genes. This was supported experimentally in our model where IL-4 stimulation partially reversed transcriptional changes which follow EBV infection and it impaired the efficiency of EBV-induced B cell transformation. Taken together, these data suggest that discordant regulation of interferon and IL-4 pathway genes by EBV that occurs early following infection of B cells has relevance to the development or maintenance of an EBV-associated malignancy.

Dataset Information

Large-scale hypomethylated blocks associated with Epstein-Barr virus-induced B-cell immortalization [Expression Array]

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