RNA Tumour Viruses

Dustin C. Edwards; Susan J. Marriott

doi:10.1002/9780470025079.chap06.pub2

RNA Tumour Viruses

Dustin C. Edwards, Susan J. Marriott

2007publishedThe Cancer Handbook10.1002/9780470025079.chap06.pub2doichapterkind

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Textbook chapter on RNA tumour viruses, focused on HTLV-1 Tax.

Abstract

It is estimated that 15% of all cancer cases are aetiologically linked to viral infection. In these cancers, genomic instability and subsequent multi‐step tumourigenesis is associated with the expression of viral oncoproteins. Human T‐cell leukaemia virus type‐I (HTLV‐I), a prototypic representative of the RNA tumour viruses, is linked to the development of adult T‐cell leukaemia. The HTLV‐I oncoprotein, Tax, targets the regulators of cell cycle progression and DNA repair, leading to cellular transformation.

Human and simian retroviruses