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Oncogenic transformation by the human polyomaviruses

Oncogene volume 20, pages 7917–7923 (2001)Cite this article

The human polyomaviruses, BKV and JCV, were first isolated 30 years ago, BKV from the urine of a renal transplant patient (Gardner et al., 1971) and JCV from the brain of a patient with progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) (Padgett et al., 1971), a neurodegenerative disease in which glial cells, the cells that produce myelin, are destroyed. These viruses share much in common with their well-studied simian cousin, SV40, but each also has its own unique features that distinguish it from the monkey virus. In this review, I will provide a brief overview of the biology of the two human viruses, an analysis of their transforming potential and their oncoproteins, the T antigens, and a discussion of the possible role of these viruses in human cancer.

When large T antigen (hereafter referred to as T antigen) accumulates to high enough levels, it recruits the host DNA polymerase to the viral origin of DNA replication, where it also unwinds the DNA and allows initiation to take place (Waga et al., 1994). At the same time, T antigen represses early gene transcription and stimulates late gene expression. The late capsid proteins are also expressed from a series of alternatively spliced mRNAs. Once the DNA has been replicated and the structural proteins are produced, new viral particles are assembled and are released from the cell. The exact mode of egress is unclear at this time. Readers wishing more detail on the basic biology of the polyomaviruses are referred to the comprehensive review by Cole in Fields Virology (Cole, 1996).

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Acknowledgements

The author would like to acknowledge the support of the American Cancer Society, grant #TPRN-98-336-01-CCE.

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  1. Department of Microbiology and Immunology, and Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan, MI 48109, USA

    Michael J Imperiale

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Imperiale, M. Oncogenic transformation by the human polyomaviruses. Oncogene 20, 7917–7923 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.onc.1204916

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