A QUANTUM OF SCIENCE
Mouse virus is implicated in causation of #2 male cancer killer
Prostate cancer strikes one in six American men, and is the second most likely cancer to cause death in men. New research now suggests that prostate cancer may in fact be linked to a virus that could be sexually transmitted.
The suspect is xenotropic murine leukemia-related virus (XMRV), a gammaretrovirus similar to viruses known to cause cancer in animals. Retroviruses are known cancer-causing agents because they integrate themselves into the host’s genetic material; when this takes place in or near a segment of DNA associated with a gene that controls growth, cancer – unrestricted cell growth – can result. Some retroviruses also contain cancer-causing genes of their own, such as the src gene in Rous sarcoma virus. The three most common cancer-causing viruses are human papilloma virus (HPV), Hepatitis B virus (Hep B), and the Eppstein Barr Virus (EBV).
Scientists working in collaboration between Columbia University and the University of Utah found XMRV in over 25% of prostate tissue samples, especially malignant ones. Moreover, the virus was found to be significantly more infective when present in semen. Another semen component, acid phosphatase, increased XMRV infectivity of human prostate cells by over 100-fold.
The strongest theory at present for the biology of XMRV-linked prostate cancer suggests that an infected man has viral particles present in his genital tract and deposits them in his partner when he has unprotected intercourse. The acid phosphatase in the semen activates the viral particles and makes them substantially more infective, making the partner at risk of transmitting the virus during future intercourse.
More research is needed to substantiate this theory, but this discovery could also lead to new treatments based on anti-retroviral therapies already known to medicine.
For more information:
Viral Cause For Prostate Cancer? (New Scientist)
Retroviruses (Wikipedia)
© AQOS / P. Smalley (2009)
Reproduction with attribution is appreciation
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