Kenzo Takada and Asuka Nanbo
Department of Tumor Virology, Institute for Genetic Medicine, Hokkaido University, N15 W7, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Japan
E-mail: kentaka@med.hokudai.ac.jp
Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-encoded small non-polyadenylated RNAs (ERERs) are the most abundant viral transcripts in latently EBV-infected cells. However, until recently, their roles in viral infection were totally unknown. It now appears that EBERs play a role in maintaining the malignant phenotypes of Burkitt's lymphoma (BL) cells. The EBERs confer clonability in soft agarose, tumourigenicity in mice, and resistance to apoptosis against various stimuli in BL. Furthermore, EBERs induce transcription of interleukin-10, which acts as an autocrine growth factor of BL. These studies open the way toward the new concept that RNA molecules can act in oncogenesis.
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