title: Viral carcinogenesis and genomic instability.
abstract: Oncogenes encoded by human tumor viruses play integral roles in the viral conquest of the host cell by subverting crucial and relatively non-redundant regulatory circuits that regulate cellular proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis and life span. Human tumor virus oncoproteins can also disrupt pathways that are necessary for the maintenance of the integrity of host cellular genome. Some viral oncoproteins act as powerful mutator genes and their expression dramatically increases the incidence of host cell mutations with every round of cell division. Others subvert cellular safeguard mechanisms intended to eliminate cells that have acquired abnormalities that interfere with normal cell division. Viruses that encode such activities can contribute to initiation as well as progression of human cancers.
authors.affiliation: The Channing Laboratory, Brigham and Women's Hospital, 181 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA. kmunger@rics.bwh.harvard.edu
authors.forename: Karl
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Münger
authors.forename: Hiroyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hayakawa
authors.forename: Christine L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Nguyen
authors.forename: Nadja V
authors.initials: NV
authors.lastname: Melquiot
authors.forename: Anette
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Duensing
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Duensing
mesh_terms: D002472:Cell Transformation, Viral / Q000235:genetics*; D042822:Genomic Instability; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology*; D014412:Tumor Virus Infections / Q000473:pathology