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Gene Review:

BALF1 - hypothetical BALF1 protein

Human herpesvirus 4

Bellows, D.S. et al., Cabras, G. et al., Marshall, W.L. et al.

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Disease relevance of BALF1

In this report the previously uncharacterized BALF1 open reading frame in EBV is identified as having significant sequence similarity to other v-bcl-2 homologs and cellular bcl-2 [1].
Epstein-Barr virus encoded BALF1 gene is transcribed in Burkitt's lymphoma cell lines and in nasopharyngeal carcinoma's biopsies [2].

High impact information on BALF1

Thus, BALF1 acts as a negative regulator of the survival function of BHRF1, similar to the counterbalance observed between cellular BCL-2 family members [3].
Transfection of cells with a BALF1 cDNA conferred apoptosis resistance [1].

Anatomical context of BALF1

We have now found that this second BCL-2 homologue encoded by EBV, BALF1, inhibits the antiapoptotic activity of EBV BHRF1 and of KSBcl-2 in several transfected cell lines [3].

Analytical, diagnostic and therapeutic context of BALF1

Coimmunoprecipitation experiments and immunofluorescence assays suggest that a minimal amount, if any, of the BHRF1 and BALF1 proteins colocalizes inside cells, suggesting that mechanisms other than direct interaction explain the suppressive function of BALF1 [3].
STUDY DESIGN: We first analysed the transcriptional expression of BALF1 by reverse transcriptase DNA polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) method [2].

References

Epstein-Barr virus encodes a novel homolog of the bcl-2 oncogene that inhibits apoptosis and associates with Bax and Bak. Marshall, W.L., Yim, C., Gustafson, E., Graf, T., Sage, D.R., Hanify, K., Williams, L., Fingeroth, J., Finberg, R.W. J. Virol. (1999) [Pubmed]
Epstein-Barr virus encoded BALF1 gene is transcribed in Burkitt's lymphoma cell lines and in nasopharyngeal carcinoma's biopsies. Cabras, G., Decaussin, G., Zeng, Y., Djennaoui, D., Melouli, H., Broully, P., Bouguermouh, A.M., Ooka, T. J. Clin. Virol. (2005) [Pubmed]
Epstein-Barr virus BALF1 is a BCL-2-like antagonist of the herpesvirus antiapoptotic BCL-2 proteins. Bellows, D.S., Howell, M., Pearson, C., Hazlewood, S.A., Hardwick, J.M. J. Virol. (2002) [Pubmed]

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