What is the difference between viral host range and Viral specificity?
Mar 12, 2014 · In this review, the Hallmarks of Cancer framework of Hanahan & Weinberg (2000 and 2011) is used to dissect the viral, host and environmental co-factors that contribute to the biology of multistep oncogenesis mediated by established human oncoviruses. The viruses discussed include Epstein Barr Virus (EBV), high-risk Human Papillomaviruses (HPV16 ...
What happens when a virus enters a host cell?
- Viruses have a host range. That is, viruses infect specific cells or tissues of specific hosts, or specific bacteria, or specific plants. - Viral specificity refers to the specific kinds of cells a virus can infect. It is regulated by the specificities of attachment, penetration and replication of the virus (Receptors) Properties of viruses
What is the host range of a virus?
Identification of HBV genotype, HBV mutants and other predictive factors allow for tailoured treatments, and risk-surveillance pathways, such as hepatocellular cancer screening. In the future, these factors may enable stratification not only of treatment decisions, but also of patients at risk of higher relapse rates when current therapies are ...
Why study hepatocellular virus (HBV) genotype and mutations?
Abstract. Viral pathogens are increasingly recognized as a cause of pneumonia, in immunocompetent patients and more commonly among immunocompromised. Viral pneumonia in adults could present as community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), ranging from mild disease to severe disease requiring hospital admission and mechanical ventilation.
How does the virus selectively attach to cancer cells?
Viruses selectively infect tumor cells because of their defective anti-viral response. Imlygic, an attenuated herpes simplex virus, has been genetically engineered to replicate preferentially within tumor cells and to generate antigens that elicit an immune response.
How do oncolytic viruses work to reduce tumor size?
“The oncolytic virus kills tumor cells and causes the release of danger signals, which help to generate an immune response,” explained Dr. Kaufman, who co-led the clinical trial that led to the approval of T-VEC.Feb 9, 2018
What kind of viruses are used as a cancer treatment?
Some of the oncolytic viruses being studied are engineered vaccinia viruses. Viruses engineered to kill cancer cells are already used to treat one form of skin cancer and are being widely tested as treatments for other cancers.Oct 15, 2019
What is the role of viruses in cancer?
Viruses can lead to cancer by associating with host proteins, proliferating when the human immune system is weakened, and hijacking proliferating human cells. Compared to other viruses, human tumor viruses are unusual because they infect, but do not kill, their host cells.Jan 25, 2019
What are the potential benefits of oncolytic virus therapy?
T-VEC, an oncolytic virus, works by infecting and killing tumor cells, like these dividing melanoma cells, and stimulating an immune response against cancer cells throughout the body.Jul 21, 2015
What are the benefits of oncolytic virus therapy?
These natural viruses can be engineered to give them advantageous properties, including decreasing their ability to infect healthy cells as well as granting them the ability to deliver therapeutic payloads specifically to tumors and produce immune-boosting molecules once they infect tumor cells.
How can viruses be used as treatment?
In fact, some viruses have beneficial properties for their hosts in a symbiotic relationship (1), while other natural and laboratory-modified viruses can be used to target and kill cancer cells, to treat a variety of genetic diseases as gene and cell therapy tools, or to serve as vaccines or vaccine delivery agents.
How can viruses be used as treatment agents?
Virotherapy is a treatment using biotechnology to convert viruses into therapeutic agents by reprogramming viruses to treat diseases. There are three main branches of virotherapy: anti-cancer oncolytic viruses, viral vectors for gene therapy and viral immunotherapy.
Can viruses be used as cures?
Viruses have been detrimental to humans due to the nature of the diseases they cause. However, now, modified viruses can help in curing dangerous illness. Since the dawn of time, viruses have been very detrimental to humans due to the nature of the diseases they cause.Nov 13, 2019
How are viral infections controlled?
Many viral diseases are controlled by reducing exposure to the virus by (1) eliminating nonhuman reservoirs, (2) eliminating the vector, and (3) improving sanitation.
Which type of cancer in human is directly caused by a viral infection?
Researchers know that there are several viruses that can lead to cancer. For example, the human papillomavirus (HPV) can cause cervical and several other cancers. And hepatitis C can lead to liver cancer and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
What cellular characteristics would be changed by a virus to lead to cancer?
Some viruses actually carry altered versions of genes that they have picked up from previous host cells. These altered genes no longer function properly, and when they are inserted into a new host cell, they cause disregulation and can lead to cancerous growth.
What is the name of the virus that is genetically modified to reproduce in cancer cells without harming healthy cells?
Known as oncolytic viruses, this group includes viruses found in nature as well as viruses modified in the laboratory to reproduce efficiently in cancer cells without harming healthy cells. To date, only one oncolytic virus— a genetically modified form of a herpesvirus for treating melanoma —has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration ...
How do viruses work?
Some viruses work primarily by killing tumor cells, whereas others work by directing local or systemic immune responses, he explained. Nonetheless, “there was a consensus at the meeting that even for directly oncolytic therapies, there probably is an important immune component to the response,” he added.
What is the name of the poliovirus that is used to kill cancer cells?
At the Duke Cancer Institute, Dr. Gromeier and his colleagues have been testing an engineered poliovirus, called PVS-RIPO, in patients with glioblastoma. When the research began in the mid-1990s, Dr. Gromeier viewed oncolytic viruses primarily as agents for killing cancer cells. His thinking changed, however, as PVS-RIPO was tested in patients, ...
How many investigators discussed microbes in cancer?
At the NCI meeting about using microbes as cancer therapies last year, more than 350 investigators discussed many topics, including the need to better understand how infectious agents interact with tumors and with components of the immune system.
Where did the Maraba virus come from?
In the second study, researchers tested the Maraba virus, which was originally isolated from a species of sand fly in Brazil, as a way to sensitize tumors to immunotherapy in a mouse model of triple-negative breast cancer.
What happens when a cancer cell bursts?
When a virus infects a tumor cell, the virus makes copies of itself until the cell bursts. The dying cancer cell releases materials, such as tumor antigens, that allow the cancer to be recognized, or “seen,” by the immune system.
Is T-VEC tolerated?
The therapy was generally well tolerated, he noted, and the most common side effects were fatigue, fever, and chills. A phase 3 clinical trial involving 600 patients with melanoma who will receive T-VEC with or without pembrolizumab is under way to assess the combination therapy in a large, randomized study.
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Testing A Modified Form of Poliovirus Against Brain Tumors
- At the Duke Cancer Institute, Dr. Gromeier and his colleagues have been testing an engineered poliovirus, called PVS-RIPO, in patients with glioblastoma. When the research began in the mid-1990s, Dr. Gromeier viewed oncolytic viruses primarily as agents for killing cancer cells. His thinking changed, however, as PVS-RIPO was tested in patients, and...
Investigating The Mechanisms of Oncolytic Virus Therapy
Future Research Questions and Priorities For The Field