Expression of interferon regulatory factor 7 correlates with the expression of Epstein –Barr Virus latent membrane protein 1 and cervical lymph node metastasis in nasopharyngeal cancer

Interferon regulatory factor 7 (IRF7) has oncogenic properties in several malignancies such as Epstein–Barr virus (EBV)‐associated lymphoma. However, there is no evidence whether IRF7 is associated with the oncogenesis of nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC), the pathogenesis of which is closely associated with EBV. Herein, we report that expression of IRF7 was increased in normal nasopharyngeal cells that expressed the EBV principal oncoprotein, latent membrane protein 1 (LMP1). In addition, IRF7 was mainly expressed in the nucleus in both normal nasopharyngeal cells and nasopharyngeal cancer cells that expresses LMP1. On immunohistochemical analysis, IRF7 was predominantly localized in the nucleus in biopsy samples of NPC tissues. In total, IRF7 expression was detected with 36 of 49 specimens of these tissues. Furthermore, the expression score of IRF7 correlated with the expression score of LMP1. Moreover, the expression score of IRF7 is associated with cervical lymph‐node metastasis, which reflects the highly metastatic nature of this cancer. Taken together, our results suggest that expression of IRF7 is one of the metastatic effectors of LMP1 signalling in EBV‐associated NPC.

Source: Pathology International - July 1, 2017 Category: Pathology Authors: Satoru Kondo, Kazuhira Endo, Naohiro Wakisaka, Mitsuharu Aga, Makoto Kano, Noriko Seishima, Tomoko Imoto, Eiji Kobayashi, Makiko Moriyama ‐Kita, Yosuke Nakanishi, Shigeyuki Murono, Joseph S. Pagano, Tomokazu Yoshizaki Tags: Short Communication Source Type: research