Abstract

Endemic Burkitt lymphoma (eBL) is an aggressive pediatric B cell lymphoma, common in Equatorial Africa. Co-infections with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and Plasmodium falciparum, coupled with c-myc translocation are involved in eBL etiology. Infection-induced immune evasion mechanisms to avoid T cell cytotoxicity may increase the role of Natural killer (NK) cells in anti-tumor immunosurveillance. Killer immunoglobulin-like receptor (KIR) genes on NK cells exhibit genotypic and allelic variations and are associated with susceptibility to diseases and malignancies. However, their role in eBL pathogenesis remains undefined. This retrospective study genotyped sixteen KIR genes and compared their frequencies in eBL patients (n = 104) and healthy geographically-matched children (n = 104) using sequence-specific primers polymerase chain reaction (SSP-PCR) technique. The relationship between KIR polymorphisms with EBV loads and eBL pathogenesis was investigated. Possession of ≥ 4 activating KIRs predisposed individuals to eBL (OR = 3.340; 95% CI 1.530–7.825; p = 0.004). High EBV levels were observed in Bx haplogroup (p = 0.016) and AB genotypes (p = 0.042) relative to AA haplogroup and AA genotype respectively, in eBL patients but not in healthy controls. Our results suggest that KIR-mediated NK cell stimulation could mute EBV control, contributing to eBL pathogenesis.

Details

Title
Association of killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptors with endemic Burkitt lymphoma in Kenyan children
Author
Muriuki, Beatrice M 1 ; Forconi, Catherine S 2 ; Oluoch, Peter O 3 ; Bailey, Jeffrey A 4 ; Ghansah, Anita 5 ; Moormann, Ann M 2 ; Ong’echa John M 6 

 University of Ghana, West African Center for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens, College of Basic and Applied Sciences, Accra, Ghana (GRID:grid.8652.9) (ISNI:0000 0004 1937 1485); Kenya Medical Research Institute, Center for Global Health Research, Kisumu, Kenya (GRID:grid.33058.3d) (ISNI:0000 0001 0155 5938) 
 University of Massachusetts Medical School, Division of Infectious Diseases and Immunology, Department of Medicine, Worcester, USA (GRID:grid.168645.8) (ISNI:0000 0001 0742 0364) 
 Kenya Medical Research Institute, Center for Global Health Research, Kisumu, Kenya (GRID:grid.33058.3d) (ISNI:0000 0001 0155 5938); University of Massachusetts Medical School, Division of Infectious Diseases and Immunology, Department of Medicine, Worcester, USA (GRID:grid.168645.8) (ISNI:0000 0001 0742 0364) 
 Brown University, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Warren Alpert Medical School, Providence, USA (GRID:grid.40263.33) (ISNI:0000 0004 1936 9094) 
 University of Ghana, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, College of Health Sciences, Legon, Accra, Ghana (GRID:grid.8652.9) (ISNI:0000 0004 1937 1485) 
 Kenya Medical Research Institute, Center for Global Health Research, Kisumu, Kenya (GRID:grid.33058.3d) (ISNI:0000 0001 0155 5938) 
Publication year
2021
Publication date
2021
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
e-ISSN
20452322
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2534802894
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2021. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.