2023-05-18 09:05:04
The Epstein-Barr virus has long been considered a potential carcinogen. According to experts, a certain component of the virus can drive the development of cancer.
Frankfurt – Loud Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) Around 90 percent of people carry the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), which belongs to the herpes viruses.
Study on Epstein Barr herpes virus: connection with cancer further confirmed
Researchers have now decoded the effect of the virus even more precisely and found that a certain protein component of EBV drives the development of cancer, explains fr.de. In a Studywhich are in the professional journal Nature was published, scientists have the connection of the pathogen with Krebs further occupied.
In a study, the team led by Julia Su Zhou Li from the University of California in San Diego investigated where exactly the virus protein docks in the genome. Analyzes of various human cell cultures revealed that the genome in chromosome 11 contains numerous copies of a DNA sequence that resembles the docking sequence in the gene code of the Epstein-Barr virus.
According to this, the Epstein-Barr virus causes cells in the human body to degenerate by docking proteins of the virus to a particularly fragile spot on our chromosome 11. According to experts, the resulting fractures favor the emergence of cancer. Experiments have reportedly shown for the first time directly how a viral protein triggers the rupture of a fragile site in the genome. “We have thus discovered a previously unrecognized connection between EBV and changes in the eleventh chromosome,” report Li and her team as part of the study.
If the DNA is damaged in this way, the cells can degenerate, which can lead to cancer. According to the study, the evaluation of the data from 2439 tumor types and 38 types of cancer showed that cancer tumors from patients with a latent EBV infection had abnormalities on chromosome 11 significantly more frequently. The resurgence of the virus in the human body could therefore increase the risk of certain types of cancer.
| Women | Men |
| breast cancer (30 percent) | Prostate cancer (24.6 percent) |
| Colorectal cancer (11.5 percent) | Lung cancer (13.3 percent) |
| Lung cancer (9.4 percent) | Colorectal cancer (12.8 percent) |
| Source: Center for Cancer Registry Data at the Robert Koch Institute |
According to the experts, this finding opens up the possibility of specifically examining people for this risk factor for EBV-related diseases. In addition, the knowledge could be used to prevent the onset of such diseases by blocking the DNA from attaching the protein to cells.
Carcinogenic effect of the Epstein-Barr virus: German experts call for a vaccine
Also at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and am German Center for Infection Research (DZIF) the carcinogenic effect of the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is decoded more precisely. “All examined so far Human tumor viruses solve cancer in a completely different way from,” explains Professor Henri-Jacques Delecluse, DZIF scientist at the DKFZ and head of various research projects on the carcinogenic effects of EBV.
Delecluse and his team have therefore been calling for the rapid development of a protective vaccination against EBV for some time. “Even the first infection,” emphasizes Delecluse, “represents a cancer risk.” DZIF press release. (hg)
According to a study with more than 500,000 participants, certain Food has a major impact on cancer risk.
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