Human Adenovirus: Tool to Reveal Mechanisms of Cellular Transformation and Vector to Treat Human Cancers
Ron T. Javier
from: DNA Tumour Viruses: Virology, Pathogenesis and Vaccines (Edited by: Sally Roberts). Caister Academic Press, U.K. (2018) Pages: 231-264.
Abstract
Human adenoviruses were discovered through their ability to cause acute respiratory infections in people. Shortly thereafter, this human pathogen was additionally shown to have the capacity to induce malignant tumours when inoculated into experimental animals. By representing the first known tumourigenic human virus, adenovirus attracted many talented scientists to study its oncogenic properties. The resulting work demonstrated that adenovirus is a powerful tool for exposing general molecular mechanisms that commonly trigger the development of cancers. Another advancement stemming from these investigations was the adenovirus vector, which arose from technologies that allowed manipulation of the adenovirus genome and production of cell lines that stably express adenovirus genes. Considering the tumourigenic properties of human adenovirus, it may be somewhat surprising that adenovirus vectors are now employed to combat human cancers. The goal of this chapter is to review the molecular mechanisms discovered for the adenovirus oncogenes and the promise of adenovirus vectors as effective cancer therapeutics read more ...
