17. Viruses and cancer 2 Flashcards
1. Describe how EBV and HPV cause cancer 2. Understand the life cycle of EBV and HPV 3. Give examples of proteins contributing to EBV and HPV infections 4. Describe vaccines and other treatments for viral infections
When was EBV discovered?
1964
How was EBV discovered as an oncovirus?
- Burkitt noticed children were getting swollen jaws and lymph nodes.
- Predicted it was an infectious disease but it was actually a lymphoma
- Obtained a sample of the cancerous lymphoblasts
- did electron microscopy and saw dense structures inside the cells
- these were viral particles of EBV
What is Burkitt’s lymphoma?
- The cancer can be caused by EBV
- Cancerous cells growing the the jaw and the lymph nodes around it
- Mainly affects B cells
What is Epstein-Barr virus?
- A herpes virus with oncogenic potential
- It mostly proliferates in B cells or cells in the back of the throat.
- It was very early to be sequenced in 1983.
- It is transmitted through saliva.
- It can become latent in B cells.
What happens to EBV latently infected B cells?
- The DNA of EBV is carried throughout our life in B cells.
- Mostly infects B memory cells so they don’t proliferate but the viral DNA is still there.
- Similar to chicken pox that is latent in B cells and can reactivate into shingles.
What is the structure of EBV?
- Envelope with lots of membrane proteins.
- Tegument which is like the cytoplasm and full of proteins.
- DNA that is wrapped in a capsid made of hexagonal and pentagonal proteins.
- Portel vertex through which the DNA leaves the virus
What are the 2 main EBV surface proteins?
- gp350 which is 350KDa and the largest protein
- gH which is a glycoprotein
What kind of virus is EBV?
dsDNA virus
How does the EBV genome persist?
- As an episome
- This is like all herpes viruses.
- It doesn’t integrate into the host genome but it does enter the nucleus.
How does the EBV genome replicate in the host B cells?
- It can use the host machinery as it is a dsDNA virus.
- It replicates every time the B cells do.
- The viral genome is passed onto the daughter cells.
How does HIV enter the host genome?
Through random integration anywhere into the genome
What is the active infection of EBV?
- Infectious mononucleosis or glandular fever.
- It enters the lymph nodes and infects the B cells causing them to proliferate.
- It is very infectious and spreads easily.
- Also infects the epithelial cells at the back of the throat.
- Symptoms include fever, sore throat, fatigue, and swollen lymph nodes.
What are most EBV infections?
- Mostly harmless
- ill for a short period of time and then is cleared or becomes latent.
How often does EBV cause cancer?
- Rarely in the UK but causes about 1.5% of human cancer.
- this is due to genetic differences
Diseases associated with EBV primary infection
- Infectious mononucleosis
- Chronic infectious mononucleosis
- Fatal infectious mononucleosis
- immune dysfunction through exhausted b and t cells
- X-linked genetic T cell defect
Conditions associated with EBV B-cell lymphomas
- organ transplantation
- AIDS
Diseases associated with EBV: endemic Burkitt’s lymphoma
15% of Burkitt’s lymphomas