Altered global gene profile in KSHV+ PEL cells exposure to dhC16-Cer

Primary effusion lymphoma (PEL) is a rare B-cell malignancy that originates from B cells latently infected with Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV, also known as human herpesvirus-8, HHV8). Our previous data indicated that several exogenous ceramide and dh-ceramide species, such as C18-Cer and dhC16-Cer, also displayed effective anti-cancer activities for KSHV+ PEL in vitro and in vivo. However, the underlying mechanisms for exogenous ceramide “killing” PEL cells still require further investigation, which will be helpful to better understand PEL pathogenesis and identify more potential therapeutic targets. In the current study, we used Illumina microarray to determine the altered gene profile in KSHV+ PEL cell-line, BCBL-1 exposure to dhC16-Cer. PEL cell-line BCBL-1 were treated with vehicle control or dhC16-Cer (40 µM) for 24 h, and the gene expression signature was compared to the corresponding vehicle controls