Molecular pathogenesis of feline leukemia virus-induced malignancies: insertional mutagenesis

Feline leukemia virus (FeLV), which is subclassified into three subgroups of A, B and C, is a pathogenic retrovirus in cats. FeLV-A is minimally pathogenic, FeLV-C can cause pure red cell aplasia, and FeLV-B is associated with a variety of pathogenic properties such as lymphoma, leukemia and anemia. FeLV-induced neoplasms are caused, at least in part, by somatically acquired insertional mutagenesis in which the integrated provirus may activate a proto-oncogene or disrupt a tumor suppressor gene. The common integration sites for FeLV have been identified in six loci with feline lymphomas: c-myc, flvi-1, flvi-2 (contains bmi-1), fit-1, pim-1 and flit-1. Oncogenic association of the loci includes that c-myc is known as a proto-oncogene, bmi-1 and pim-1 have been recognized as myc-collaborators, fit-1 appears to be closely linked to myb, and flit-1 insertion is shown to be associated with over-expression of a cellular gene, e.g. ACVRL1. Thus, identification of common integration sites for FeLV is a tenable model to clarify oncogenesis. Recent advances in molecular biology and cytogenetics have developed to rapidly detect numbers of retroviral integration sites by genome-wide large-scale analyses. Especially, polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based strategies and chromosome analyses with fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) will be applicable for studies on FeLV.     

From viruses to cancer stem cells: dissecting the pathways to malignancy

Cancer is a disease of all vertebrate species and has been well documented throughout history with fossil records indicating that dinosaurs of the Jurassic period suffered from the disease. The Greek physician, Galen is accredited with describing human tumours as having the shape of a crab, with leg like tendrils invading deep into surrounding tissues--hence the term cancer. Today cancer can be defined as any malignant growth or tumour caused by abnormal and uncontrolled cell division that is able to invade tissues locally and spread to other parts of the body through the lymphatic system or the blood stream. This is obviously a simplistic attempt at describing a complex disease that can utilize a myriad of biological pathways to sustain growth and proliferation. Dissecting these pathways has been the challenge of cancer researchers for decades in the search for new treatment strategies. This review attempts to condense our understanding of cancer and to offer insights into an alternative theory regarding the existence of true cancer stem cells and how this will inform the development of new therapeutics.     

骨髓间充质干细胞对肿瘤细胞的生物学行为的影响

骨髓来源的间充质干细胞(Bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells,MSCs)具有良好的向损伤部位归巢的能力,有利于组织修复和再生。肿瘤被认为是一种特殊的不愈合创伤,MSCs通过向肿瘤组织的归巢和向间质成分分化,改变肿瘤微环境,并影响肿瘤的生长和转移。研究发现MSCs对肿瘤细胞的影响并不统一,存在双向性。目前,MSCs与肿瘤细胞之间关系的研究越来越受到学者的关注。MSCs作为一种肿瘤治疗的靶向新型载体,在临床上具有广阔的应用前景,但MSCs在临床应用中也存在潜在的恶性转化风险,特别是致癌机制。文章主要介绍MSCs对肿瘤细胞相关生物学行为的影响以及在癌症治疗方面的应用。     

马立克病病毒编码的miR-M4-5p调控宿主靶基因的筛选及鉴定

血清1型马立克病病毒（MDV-1）感染引起的鸡马立克病（MD）一直以来被认为是研究病毒诱导肿瘤发生机制的理想模型。此前研究发现，MDV-1编码的miR-M4-5p是宿主癌基因miR-155的病毒同源物，从基因组中敲除miR-M4-5p可显著降低MDV-1的致病性和致瘤性，表明miR-M4-5p可能是MDV-1诱导肿瘤发生的重要调控因子。为进一步揭示miR-M4-5p的调控机制，以CEF细胞总RNA反转录产物cDNA为模板，利用hybrid-PCR技术构建了miR-M4-5p的候选靶基因文库。通过基因克隆、PCR鉴定及序列比对分析，获得128个候选基因序列，有73个基因的3'-UTR存在miR-M4-5p的潜在结合靶点，其中23个3'-UTR结合靶点与miR-M4-5p完全互补配对。通过双荧光素酶报告试验和qRT-PCR分析，对miR-M4-5p与3'-UTR的体内外相互作用以及候选靶基因的表达水平进行分析和验证，最终鉴定DPT、TMEM230和DCLK1为miR-M4-5p调控的宿主靶基因。本研究为后续进一步阐明miR-M4-5p在MD肿瘤发生中的调控机制奠定了重要基础。