Role of the Immunoreceptor Tyrosine-Based Activation Motif of Latent Membrane Protein 2A (LMP2A) in Epstein-Barr Virus LMP2A-Induced Cell Transformation

Abstract

Latent membrane protein 2A (LMP2A) of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is widely expressed in EBV-associated malignancies. We demonstrate that LMP2A has a transformation ability. This study shows that LMP2A-induced transformation in several human nonhematopoietic cell lines was blocked in those cells expressing an immunoreceptor tyrosine-based activation motif (ITAM) LMP2A mutant. The Syk inhibitor or Syk-specific small interfering RNA (siRNA) inhibited LMP2A-induced transformation. These results indicate that the interaction of the LMP2A ITAM with Syk is a key step for LMP2A-mediated transformation.