We investigated the mechanism by which the large T antigen (T-Ag) of both polyomavirus and simian virus 40 (SV40) promotes homologous recombination in mammalian cells. To this end, we constructed a rat cell line, designated Hy5, that carries two mutated copies of the polyomavirus middle-T-Ag (pmt) oncogene lying as direct repeats on the same chromosome. The structure of the viral insert was dev...

UNLABELLED Raccoon polyomavirus (RacPyV) is associated with 100% of neuroglial tumors in free-ranging raccoons. Other tumor-associated polyomaviruses (PyVs), including simian virus 40 (SV40), murine PyV, and Merkel cell PyV, are found integrated in the host genome in neoplastic cells, where they constitutively express splice variants of the tumor antigen (TAg) gene. We have previously reported ...

BACKGROUND Virus-like particles (VLPs) can be efficiently produced by heterologous expression of viral structural proteins in yeast. Due to their repetitive structure, VLPs are extensively used for protein engineering and generation of chimeric VLPs with inserted foreign epitopes. Hamster polyomavirus VP1 represents a promising epitope carrier. However, insertion of large sized protein sequence...

Viral infections are a major cause of morbidity and even mortality in solid organ transplant recipients. This article reviews key aspects of infections in solid organ transplant recipients from respiratory viruses, such as influenza, polyomavirus, erythrovirus B19 and measles.

We amplified and sequenced the genome of a polyomavirus infecting a central chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes troglodytes). This virus, which is closely related to BK and JC polyomaviruses, may help shed a new light on these human pathogens' evolutionary history.

Virus-specific CD4(+) T cells optimize antiviral responses by providing help for antiviral humoral responses and CD8(+) T cell differentiation. Although CD4(+) T cell responses to viral infections that undergo complete clearance have been studied extensively, less is known about virus-specific CD4(+) T cell responses to viruses that persistently infect their hosts. Using a mouse polyomavirus (M...

The avian polyomavirus is one of the most significant viral pathogens of cage birds. It results in substantial economic losses for aviculturalists and pet store owners each year. The biology of this virus is complex and as a result veterinarians and aviculturalists alike are often very confused about how to best prevent this virus infection and once confronted with it, how to minimize its impac...

Abnormal proliferation signals, driven by cellular or viral oncogenes, can result in the induction of apoptosis under sub-optimal cell growth conditions. The tumor suppressor p53 plays a central role in mediating oncogene-induced apoptosis, therefore transformed cells lacking p53 are generally resistant to apoptosis-promoting treatments. In a previous work we have reported that the expression o...

Background: The role of infectious agents in prostate cancer development has been considered for many years. Polyomaviruses are suspected to be related to human malignancies and they have been frequently detected from various human cancers. Aim: This study was performed to investigate presence of large t antigen encoded by Merkel Cell polyomavirus (MCV), JC polyomavirus (JCV), BK polyomavirus (...

Allan Dovigi: HIV SALIVARY GLAND DISEASE: A ROLE FOR VIRAL INFECTION (Under the Direction of Dr. Webster Cyriaque) HIV-associated salivary gland disease (HIV SGD) is an AIDS defining condition associated with significant morbidity and lymphoma development in HIV-positive individuals. Understanding HIV SGD becomes increasingly important as the burden of HIV disease expands globally. The epidemio...