Epstein-Barr virus latent membrane protein 2 induces autophagy to promote abnormal acinus formation.

Epstein-Barr virus latent membrane protein 2A (LMP2A) induces many characteristics of carcinoma, including transformation, migration, invasion, and impaired differentiation. The MCF10A cell line differentiates to form hollow acini when grown in Matrigel, and expression of LMP2A inhibited differentiation and anoikis induced by loss of matrix attachment. LMP2A-infected cells formed large, lobular structures rather than hollow acini. Autophagy inhibitors impaired this abnormal growth and induced caspase 3 activation and acinus formation. LMP2A also increased autophagosome formation and expression of proteins in the autophagosome pathway. These findings suggest that LMP2A may inhibit anoikis and luminal clearance in acini through induction of autophagy.