Viruses May Cause Cancer
March 2, 2007 by Gloria Gamat
Filed under Diseases & Conditions
Viruses that can cause cells to fuse may lead to cancerous cells.
Fusion abruptly unites two or three cells under the same membrane, a change that triggers massive CIN and creates diverse cells whose properties change over time. The researchers found that some of these cells can become cancerous.
In the proposed model, identifying and inactivating these viruses that cause CIN (chromosomal instability) may help decrease the incidence of cancer.
Such is the cancer model proposed by a research team from Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) led by Yuri Lazebnik.
The research team stipulates that at least 18 of 29 virus families that infect human cells have species that fuse cells – implying that CIN and cancer might be caused by viruses that are even considered harmless.
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