1. DNA Tumour Viruses Flashcards
what type of viruses cause cancer
DNA viruses
how do viruses infect cells to cause cancer?
infect non-dividing cells and forces them into cell cycle to provide machinery for viral replication
how are RNA viruses associated with cancer?
RNA viruses associated with cancer via inflammation
what is the top cancer for men? top cancer for women?
men: liver cancer
women: cervical cancer
3 characteristics of adenovirus?
- non-enveloped
- icosahedral
- 90nm diameter
3 characteristics of adenovirus genome
- dsDNA
- 35-45kb
- linear
who are at high risk for adenovirus? why
military recruits –> high stress environment + lots of exercise + tight conditions = become immunocompromised
what are 8 diseases that adenoviruses cause? what’s the most prominent one?
- acute respiratory issues
- pharyngitis
- gastroenteritis
- conjunctivitis
- pneumonia
- keratoconjunctivitis
- acute hemorrhagic cystitis
- hepatitis
upper respiratory illness is main one
describe adenovirus as a model for cancer biology
when first isolated, found it caused tumours in rodents
but we know now that injecting RODENTS with HUMAN adenovirus means the virus cannot replicate well in rodents but virus produces oncogenes to cause cancer
in humans, human adenovirus replicates very well to kill cells but we also have good immune response against it
what type of cells does adenovirus infect?
epithelial cells
what does adenovirus produce in the nucleus? what does this lead to?
creates inclusion bodies with crystal lattices of the virus in the nucleus to lead to lysis
how can we purify adenovirus?
CsCl gradient
how many proteins does adenovirus genome encode?
dsDNA genome encodes for 40 proteins
what is the role of early adenovirus genes?
sets up the cell so virus can replicate
what is the role of late adenovirus genes?
structural components, etc. for function
how long is the adenovirus life cycle?
12-14h
what did we major discovery came from adenovirus studies? how did we confirm this?
SPLICING –> mRNAs looked different than genome
hybridized viral RNA to genomic DNA and found introns looped out aka spliced out
which gene causes cancer from adenovirus? what type of gene is this?
first gene produced = E1A –> oncogene
what is the role of E1A?
transcription factor –> turns gene transcription ON
what happens if there is no E1A?
no E1A = no replication = dead virus
what are the functional domains of E1A?
- Nterminus
- CR1
- CR2
- CR3
what are the 2 roles of CR3?
- Binds TATA Box Binding Protein (TBP) which binds TATA at promoters to turn on gene expression
- Binds Activating Transcription Factor (ATF) at many promoters for genes required by adenovirus
what are the 2 types of E1A? what is the difference? how does this change the cancer outcome? what does this mean?
289R and 243R
243R does not have CR3 but can still cause cancer –> therefore not just transcription causes cancer
which functional domains of E1A are most important?
CR1, CR2, and N
what protein does E1A interact with to cause cancer?
Rb
describe E1A’s activity at Rb
E1A ACTIVATES E2F TRANSCRIPTION
- Normally, Rb binds E2F to block it from activating S phase genes
- but E1A sequesters Rb so E2F is able to activate S phase and E2 genes
how do cells normally activate E2F?
growth factors activate CDK to phosphorylate Rb so E2F can leave and activate genes
why is it important that E1A blocks Rb to cause cancer?
Rb acts as the guardian of G1-S checkpoint –> once it passes this boundary, it must commit to cancer
what happens once E2F is activated?
p14 ARF gene is active and sequesters MDM, releasing and stabilizing p53 to cause apoptosis
how is apoptosis inhibited? (2)
- E1B-55K inhibits p53 so the cell can survive
- E1B-19K inhibits apoptosis
what is p53?
a transcription factor that is a tumour suppressor –> most mutated gene in cancer bc essential to prevent cancer
what are the 3 domains of p53?
- DNA binding domain
- transactivation domain at N terminus
- regulatory domain at C terminus
what is the role of the DNA binding domain?
binds directly to specific DNA sequence at promoter of target gene to turn it on
what is the role of the transactivation domain at N terminus?
binds transcription factors
what is the role of the regulatory region at C terminus?
allows 4 p53 to bind DNA (bc p53 binds as tetramer)
why do cancers often mutate p53?
mutations prevent p53 from binding its normal genes so it cannot act as a tumour suppressor
when is p53 turned off? when is p53 turned on (3)?
normally off! usually no need for apoptosis
but turns on due to:
1. Ionizing radiation (UV, Xray)
2. DNA breaks that activate kinases
3. Oncogenes are expressed (ex. p14 ARF)
What is the relationship between MDM and p53?
negative feedback loop
describe the negative feedback loop btwn MDM and p53 (3 steps)
- p53 is activated and induces genes to prevent cancer
- p53 turns on MDM2
- MDM2 causes p53 destruction
describe the 5 types of genes that p53 turns on
- growth arrest
- DNA repair
- anti-angiogenesis
- apoptosis
- P21 (inhibits cell cycle kinases)
if we do a western blot for p53 under normal conditions will we see p53? what about under cancer conditions?
normal conditions: NO –> MDM is degrading it
cancer conditions: YES –> p53 is stabilized
describe the 1-2 punch of adenovirus cancer causing ability
- E1A sequesters Rb so E2F is active but this stabilizes p53
- E1B inhibits p53 –> cell survival
why is polyomavirus linked to non-cancer-causing virus poliovirus?
grew polio on monkey cells and used as a vaccine –> found there was still virus replicating which was SV40 –> injected in rodents and caused tumours