The Epstein‑Barr virus (EBV) is tightly associated with a variety of human tumors, including Burkitt lymphoma and acquired immune deficiency syndrome‑related lymphoma of B‑cell origin, as well as nasopharyngeal carcinoma and gastric cancer of epithelial origin. The virus latently infects the host cells and expresses proteins and non‑coding RNAs to achieve malignancy. MicroRNAs (miRNAs or miRs) are small RNAs consisting of 19‑25 nucleotides, which directly bind to the 3'‑untranslated region of mRNAs to promote degradation and inhibit translation of mRNAs. EBV‑encoded miRs are generated from two regions of the viral genome, within the apoptosis regulator BHRF1 gene locus and near the BamHI A region in a latency type‑dependent manner. In addition, EBV‑encoded miRs epigenetically regulate the expression of molecules that are effectors of the cell cycle progression, migration, apoptosis and innate immunity, serving a vital role in supporting viral replication and occurrence of EBV‑associated tumors. The feasibility of using such miRs as biomarkers for the diagnosis and prognosis of EBV‑associated tumors is currently under investigation.
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Zhang et al. (2019) studied this question.
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