Viral oncogenes, viruses, and cancer: a third-generation sequencing perspective on viral integration into the human

Ruichen Ye1,2,3, Angelina Wang4, Brady Bu5

  • 1Department of Pathology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, United States.

Frontiers in Oncology
|January 8, 2024
PubMed

Insights

Third-generation sequencing, including Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) and Pacific Biosciences (PacBio), offers new ways to study how viruses like HPV and HBV cause cancer by integrating into human DNA and activating oncogenes.

Area of Science:

  • Oncology
  • Virology
  • Genomics
  • Bioinformatics

Background:

  • The link between viral infections and cancer development has been recognized for decades.
  • Specific viruses, such as Human Papillomavirus (HPV), Hepatitis B and C Viruses (HBV/HCV), Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV), and Human T-Cell Leukemia Virus (HTLV-1), are known oncogenic agents.
  • These viruses contribute to cancer by integrating their DNA into the host genome and activating oncogenes.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To explore the molecular mechanisms of viral oncogenesis.
  • To review the role of specific viruses in human cancer development.
  • To highlight the impact of third-generation sequencing technologies on understanding viral integration in cancer.

Main Methods:

  • Review of existing literature on viral oncogenesis and cancer.
  • Discussion of third-generation sequencing technologies: Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) and Pacific Biosciences (PacBio) Single-Molecule Real-Time (SMRT) sequencing.
  • Analysis of how these advanced sequencing methods enable high-resolution study of viral integration sites and host gene expression.

Main Results:

  • Third-generation sequencing provides unprecedented resolution for mapping viral integration sites.
  • These technologies allow for assessment of host gene expression and tracking of clonal evolution in cancer cells.
  • ONT and PacBio sequencing offer novel approaches to studying the intricate relationship between viral oncogenes, viruses, and cancer.

Conclusions:

  • Third-generation sequencing represents a significant advancement in studying viral integration and its role in cancer.
  • These technologies enhance our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying viral-induced oncogenesis.
  • Further application of these sequencing methods will deepen insights into virus-associated cancers.

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