Epstein-barr virus (EBV) in healthy carriers: Distribution of genotypes and 30 bp deletion in latent membrane protein-1 (LMP-1) oncogene

There are two types of Epstein Barr virus (EBV): EBV‐1 and EBV‐2, distinguished by genomic polymorphism in the genes encoding the nuclear antigens (EBNA‐2, ‐3A, ‐3B, ‐3C). Latent membrane protein 1 (LMP‐1) is an EBV protein with known oncogenic properties. Different variants had been described; among them, a 30 base pair (bp) deletion (del‐LMP‐1) had been reported in benign and malignant pathologies, but there is little information about its frequency in healthy populations. The aim of this study was to determine the distribution of the EBV genotypes and the 30 bp deletion frequency, in EBV healthy carriers from Argentina. Analysis of EBNA‐3C and LMP‐1 genes were done by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) followed by Southern blot hybridization on DNA of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from blood bank donors. EBV‐1 was present in 75.9% of samples, EBV‐2 in 14.6%, and co‐infections with both types in 6.5%. The deleted LMP‐1 variant was found in 7.4% of analyzed samples, corresponding 3.2% to deleted variant alone and 4.2% to co‐infections with non‐deleted form. The non‐deleted variant was found in 64.6% whereas in the remaining 28%, no PCR product was detected. These results showed that EBV‐1 was the more prevalent type in healthy carriers of Argentina, similar to reports from others countries. A predominance of the non‐deleted LMP‐1 variant was observed. The presence of co‐infections with both types and variants demonstrated that healthy individuals may also harbor multiple EBV infections. J. Med. Virol. 73:583–588, 2004. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.