EBV strain interacts with host HLA to drive nasopharyngeal carcinoma risk
B cells transformed by 85841G-carrying strains, and is associated with reduced salivary viral load and lower NPC risk among A*11:01 carriers. Evolutionary analysis reveals that 85841G arose via ancient recombination events between northern and southern EBV and subsequently underwent clonal expansion in southern China, leading to co-enrichment of interacting host and viral risk factors that, in turn, contribute to NPC endemicity. These findings reveal a markedly stratified, interaction-driven risk architecture in NPC and highlight opportunities for precision prevention.
Authors
- Z Liu
- Qinyao Huang
- Xihong Lin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7067-7752)
- 蔡永林
- C Wang
- Weiwei Zhai (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7938-0226)
- Jingtong Liang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6543-342X)
- Yan Luo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9849-0516)
- Weimin Ye
- J S Li
- MingFang Ji
- Jun Xu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-5663-0590)
- Mu‐Sheng Zeng (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3509-5591)
- Yi‐Xin Zeng (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6515-628X)
- Jianjun Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3255-3019)
- Xi Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4638-3997)
- Miao Xu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7091-4199)
- Yingying Cheng
- Minzhong Tang
- Ruimei Feng (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8020-2654)
- Wanlin Zhang
- Xiaoping Ye
- Xinyu Zhang
- Fei Yao
- Qiuting Zhang
- Shanshan Zhang
- Qian Cui
- Yanhong Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0003-1405-3488)
- Xiang Zhou
- Qisheng Feng
- Zhe Zhang
Institutions
- Agency for Science, Technology and Research (SG)
- Fujian Medical University (CN)
- Harvard University (US)
- Sun Yat-sen University (CN)
- Guangxi Medical University (CN)
- Shanxi Medical University (CN)
- Columbia University Irving Medical Center (US)
- Zhongshan People's Hospital (CN)
- First Affiliated Hospital of GuangXi Medical University (CN)
- Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences (CN)
- Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center (CN)
- National University Health System (SG)
- Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital (CN)
- Wuzhou Red Cross Hospital (CN)
- Institute of Zoology (CN)
- Southern Medical University (CN)
- Genome Institute of Singapore (SG)
- Columbia University (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nature
- Published
- 2026-04-15
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-10416-8
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Viral-associated cancers and disorders
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 15.48