(Press-News.org) More than 50% of adults in the United States test positive for human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection. For most people, infection produces no symptoms and results in the virus persisting in the body for a long time. HCMV infects many cell types in the body including the cells that line the intestines (IECs). New research, led by Sergio Lira, at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, shows that mice engineered to express the HCMV protein US28 in IECs develop intestinal tumors as they age. These mice also develop more tumors than normal mice in a model of inflammation-induced intestinal tumors. The authors therefore suggest that it is possible that HCMV infection could help promote intestinal cancer in humans, although they caution that much more work is needed if such an association is to be confirmed.
INFORMATION:
TITLE: The cytomegalovirus-encoded chemokine receptor US28 promotes intestinal neoplasia in transgenic mice
AUTHOR CONTACT:
Sergio A. Lira
Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, New York, USA.
Phone: 212.659.9404; Fax: 212.849.2525; E-mail: sergio.lira@mssm.edu.
View this article at: http://www.jci.org/articles/view/42563?key=dbd641dac08e3962f84a
Intriguing viral link to intestinal cancer in mice
2010-10-11
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JCI online early table of contents: Oct. 11, 2010
2010-10-11
EDITOR'S PICK: Intriguing viral link to intestinal cancer in mice
More than 50% of adults in the United States test positive for human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection. For most people, infection produces no symptoms and results in the virus persisting in the body for a long time. HCMV infects many cell types in the body including the cells that line the intestines (IECs). New research, led by Sergio Lira, at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, shows that mice engineered to express the HCMV protein US28 in IECs develop intestinal tumors as they age. These mice ...
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2010-10-11
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ABOUT NOVOCURE
Novocure is a subsidiary of Jersey Isle based Standen Ltd., an oncology company pioneering tumor treating fields (TTF) therapy, a new modality for treating solid tumors. Novocure’s US operations are based in Portsmouth, NH and the company’s research center is located in Haifa, Israel. For additional information about Novocure, please visit www.novocuretrial.com.
EDITORS NOTE: High resolution device photos available by request.
1Nasser Hanna et al; "Randomized Phase III Trial of Pemetrexed versus Docetaxel in Patients with Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer ...
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