Document 0780
 DOCN  M94B0780
 TI    Retroviruses in human cancer (Meeting abstract).
 DT    9412
 AU    Weiss RA; Chester Beatty Laboratories, Inst. of Cancer Res., 237 Fulham;
       Rd., London SW3 6JB, UK
 SO    EACR-12: 12th Biennial Meeting of the European Association for Cancer
       Research. April 4-7, 1993, Brussels, Belgium, 1993.. Unique Identifier :
       AIDSLINE ICDB/94697506
 AB    The retroviruses linked with human cancer fall into two distinct
       categories. Human T-cell leukemia viruses (HTLV-I, HTLV-II) are
       oncoviruses. HTLV-I infection accounts for the major burden of adult
       T-cell lymphoma and leukemia in regions such as Japan, the Caribbean
       basin and some West African states. HTLV-II is widely endemic in native
       Americans and has also been found among African bushmen. It is not so
       definitely linked with malignant disease as HTLV-I but may be implicated
       in a variant form of hairy cell leukemia. The tax genes of HTLV-I and
       HTLV-II play a role in cell transformation by transactivating cellular
       genes. Human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV-1, HIV-2) are lentiviruses
       and are the principal causes of AIDS. The cancers linked with HIV
       infection are the same as those seen in immunodeficiency caused by
       hereditary defects or by iatrogenic immunosuppression, in particular,
       B-cell lymphoma and Kaposi's sarcoma. Epidemiological investigations of
       Kaposi's sarcoma in AIDS patients indicate that it may be initiated by a
       transmissible agent independent of HIV but will not normally be manifest
       in immunocompetent individuals. In addition, studies of Kaposi cells in
       culture and of some transgenic mice suggest that the HIV TAT protein may
       promote Kaposi-like cell proliferation.
 DE    Cell Division  Gene Products, tat/PHYSIOLOGY  Gene Products, tax  HIV
       Infections/COMPLICATIONS  HTLV-I Infections/*COMPLICATIONS  HTLV-II
       Infections/*COMPLICATIONS  Human  Leukemia/*MICROBIOLOGY  Leukemia,
       Hairy Cell/*MICROBIOLOGY  Lymphoma/*MICROBIOLOGY  Lymphoma,
       B-Cell/*MICROBIOLOGY  Sarcoma, Kaposi's/*MICROBIOLOGY/PATHOLOGY  MEETING
       ABSTRACT

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