Disease relevance of BARF0

• Updated Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) DNA sequence and analysis of a promoter for the BART (CST, BARF0) RNAs of EBV [1].
• Akata and Mutu cell lines are derived from Burkitt's lymphoma (BL) and retain the in vivo phenotype of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) expression that is characterized by expression of EBV-determined nuclear antigen 1 (EBNA1), EBV-encoded RNAs (EBERs) and transcripts from the BAM:HI A region (BARF0) [2].

High impact information on BARF0

• The RNAs are differentially spliced to form several open reading frames and also contain the BARF0 open reading frame at the 3' end [3].
• Among the known EBV latency-associated gene products, EBV-encoded small RNAs, EBNA1 and transcripts from the BamHI-A rightward reading frame (BARF0), and latent membrane protein 2A were expressed in all EBV-infected cell clones [4].
• Reverse transcriptase PCR analysis demonstrated that these EBV-positive cell lines expressed significantly lower levels of BARF0 mRNA than transfected cells [5].
• Identification of a cytotoxic T-lymphocyte response to the novel BARF0 protein of Epstein-Barr virus: a critical role for antigen expression [5].
• The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-encoded BARF0 open reading frame gene products are consistently expressed in EBV-positive Burkitt's lymphoma (BL) cell lines, nasopharyngeal carcinoma cell lines, and lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCLs) [5].

Biological context of BARF0

• These transcripts include several distinctly spliced forms which are 3'-end coterminal and contain the BamHI A rightward frame 0 (BARF0) open reading frame (ORF) in the final exon [6].
• Analysis of Epstein-Barr virus transcription in situ in parotid carcinoma specimens revealed that the EBER RNAs, latent membrane protein mRNA, and the BamHI-A rightward reading frame, BARF0, are expressed in the malignant epithelial cells [7].
• In this study, a rabbit antiserum to a synthetic peptide representing an amino acid sequence encoded by the BARF0 ORF was prepared [8].
• Since the se transcripts arise from a 22-kbp segment of the EBV genome and construction of large deletion mutants is an improbable result after transfection of infected cells with an EBV DNA fragment with a large deletion mutation, a new approach was taken to make a recombinant with the DNA encoding all of the BARF0 RNAs deleted [9].
• A large segment of EBV DNA was deleted from the transfected cosmid DNAs by omitting a cosmid which included all of the DNA encoding the BARF0 RNA and by ligating the distal halves of the two flanking cosmids so as to create one cosmid which had ends that overlapped with the other two unaltered cosmids [9].

Anatomical context of BARF0

• Thus, the BARF0 transcript is not critical to primary B-lymphocyte growth transformation or to latent infection [9].
• Here we show that the BARF0 sequence includes an HLA A*0201-restricted cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) epitope [5].

Associations of BARF0 with chemical compounds

• This antiserum detected a glutathione S-transferase-BARF0 fusion protein and both BARF0 and RK-BARF0 proteins expressed from transfected constructs in H1299 cells [8].

Other interactions of BARF0

• The BARTs detected were shown possibly to encode the RPMS1 and BARF0 proteins, based on their splicing [10].

Analytical, diagnostic and therapeutic context of BARF0

• RT-PCRs specific for the different splice variants of the BARTs and both a nucleic acid sequence-based amplification assay and an RT-PCR specific for the BARF0 ORF were used [10].

References