Related Experiment Video

Updated: Sep 18, 2025

Author Spotlight: Reprogramming Cancer Cells to iPSCs to Study Disease Progression and Treatment Targets
07:08

Author Spotlight: Reprogramming Cancer Cells to iPSCs to Study Disease Progression and Treatment Targets

Published on: February 2, 2024

920

Oncogenic viruses rewire the epigenome in human cancer

Jhommara Bautista1,2,3, Andrés Lopez-Cortes1

  • 1Cancer Research Group (CRG), Faculty of Medicine, Universidad de Las Américas, Quito, Ecuador.

Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology
|June 25, 2025
PubMed

Insights

Oncogenic viruses reshape the host epigenome, causing DNA methylation and chromatin changes that promote cancer. New therapies combine virotherapy, epigenetic drugs, and immune modulation for better cancer treatment outcomes.

Area of Science:

  • Virology
  • Cancer Biology
  • Epigenetics

Background:

  • Viruses cause 15-20% of global cancers, with oncogenic mechanisms still under investigation.
  • Beyond traditional roles, oncogenic viruses profoundly alter host epigenomes to drive persistent infections and tumorigenesis.
  • Key viruses include HPV, EBV, HBV, HCV, and HTLV-1.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To synthesize how oncogenic viruses modulate the epigenetic landscape.
  • To focus on epigenetic changes in cervical, hepatic, and lymphoepithelial cancers.
  • To explore persistent epigenetic alterations and therapeutic targeting.

Main Methods:

  • Review of current literature on virus-induced epigenetic modifications.
  • Analysis of DNA methylation, histone modification, chromatin accessibility, and non-coding RNA changes.
  • Synthesis of therapeutic strategies including oncolytic virotherapy, epigenetic drugs, and immunotherapy.

Main Results:

  • Oncogenic viruses induce widespread, durable epigenetic changes (DNA methylation, histone modification, chromatin accessibility, non-coding RNAs).
  • These changes silence tumor suppressors, deregulate oncogenes, and promote stemness-like phenotypes.
  • Virus-induced epigenetic changes can persist even after viral clearance.

Conclusions:

  • Oncogenic viruses utilize epigenetic reprogramming as a key mechanism for tumorigenesis.
  • Epigenetic 'scars' left by viruses present therapeutic opportunities.
  • Combination therapies integrating virotherapy, epigenetic drugs, and immune modulation show promise for treating virus-induced cancers.
Keywords:
cancerdrugsepigenomeimmune modulationoncogenic virusoncolytic virotherapy

More Related Videos

Genome-wide RNAi Screening to Identify Host Factors That Modulate Oncolytic Virus Therapy08:51

Genome-wide RNAi Screening to Identify Host Factors That Modulate Oncolytic Virus Therapy

Published on: April 3, 2018

9.2K
In Vitro Establishment of a Genetically Engineered Murine Head and Neck Cancer Cell Line using an Adeno-Associated Virus-Cas9 System05:45

In Vitro Establishment of a Genetically Engineered Murine Head and Neck Cancer Cell Line using an Adeno-Associated Virus-Cas9 System

Published on: January 9, 2020

8.0K

Related Concept Videos

Mechanisms of Retrovirus-induced Cancers01:51

Mechanisms of Retrovirus-induced Cancers

Retroviruses are RNA viruses that have been shown to cause cancers in diverse species, including chickens, mice, cats, and monkeys. The RNA genomes of these viruses are first reverse-transcribed into single and then double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) copies. This dsDNA called proviral DNA then integrates into the host genome. Subsequently, the host cell transcribes the proviral DNA in concert with the chromosomal DNA. This leads to the production of viral RNA and proteins that assemble at the host...
5.3K
Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells01:06

Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

Stem cells are undifferentiated cells that divide and produce different cell types. Ordinarily, cells that have differentiated into a specific cell type are terminally differentiated; however, scientists have found a way to reprogram these mature cells so that they dedifferentiate and return to an unspecialized, proliferative state. These cells are pluripotent like embryonic stem cells—able to produce all cell types—and are called induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs).
Somatic...
4.4K
Epigenetic Regulation01:37

Epigenetic Regulation

Epigenetic changes alter the physical structure of the DNA without changing the genetic sequence and often regulate whether genes are turned on or off. This regulation ensures that each cell produces only proteins necessary for its function. For example, proteins that promote bone growth are not produced in muscle cells. Epigenetic mechanisms play an essential role in healthy development. Conversely, precisely regulated epigenetic mechanisms are disrupted in diseases like cancer.
X-chromosome...
3.1K
Rous Sarcoma Virus (RSV) and Cancer01:03

Rous Sarcoma Virus (RSV) and Cancer

Rous Sarcoma virus or RSV was discovered by F. Peyton Rous in the year 1911 as a filterable transmissible agent that could cause tumors in chickens. He won a Nobel Prize for this discovery in 1966. His experiments clearly demonstrated that some cancers could be caused by infectious agents and led to the discovery of many more cancer-causing viruses in animals as well as humans.
RSV is a retrovirus that contains two copies of a plus-strand  RNA genome. Its genome consists of four main open...
5.4K
Cancers Originate from Somatic Mutations in a Single Cell02:21

Cancers Originate from Somatic Mutations in a Single Cell

Cancer arises from mutations in the critical genes that allow healthy cells to escape cell cycle regulation and acquire the ability to proliferate indefinitely. Though originating from a single mutation event in one of the originator cells, cancer progresses when the mutant cell lines continue to gain more and more mutations, and finally, become malignant. For example, chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) develops initially as a non-lethal increase in white blood cells, which progressively...
13.1K
Cancer-Critical Genes I: Proto-oncogenes01:33

Cancer-Critical Genes I: Proto-oncogenes

Genes usually encode proteins necessary for the proper functioning of a healthy cell. Mutations can often cause changes to the gene expression pattern, thereby altering the phenotype.
When the function of certain critical genes, especially those involved in cell cycle regulation and cell growth signaling cascades, gets disrupted, it upsets the cell cycle progression. Such cells with unchecked cell cycles start proliferating uncontrollably and eventually develop into tumors.
Such genes that act...
9.2K