Cloning and characterization of the latent membrane protein (LMP) of a specific Epstein-Barr virus variant derived from the nasopharyngeal carcinoma in the Taiwanese population.

A DNA fragment containing Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) terminal fragment sequence was obtained from a genomic library of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). One of the clones (clone 1510) contained the gene encoding latent membrane protein (LMP). Sequence analysis revealed that this gene had 95% homology with the LMP sequence of the B95-8 strain. Among the sequence variations, there was a change from G to T at nucleotide position 169 426, resulting in the loss of an XhoI site in exon I of the LMP gene