title: Viral manipulation of the host epigenome for oncogenic transformation.
abstract: The cancerous cellular state is associated with multiple epigenetic alterations, but elucidating the precise order of such alterations during tumorigenic progression and their contributions to the transformed phenotype remains a significant challenge in cancer biology. Here we discuss recent findings on how viral oncoproteins exploit specific epigenetic processes to coerce normal cells to replicate when they should remain quiescent - a hallmark of cancer. These findings may highlight roles of epigenetic processes in normal biology and shed light on epigenetic events occurring along the path of non-viral neoplastic transformation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Chemistry, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA.
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ferrari
authors.forename: Arnold J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Berk
authors.forename: Siavash K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Kurdistani
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002472:Cell Transformation, Viral / Q000235:genetics*; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic / Q000235:genetics*; D016678:Genome; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D009856:Oncogene Proteins, Viral / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D009856:Oncogene Proteins, Viral