Protein phosphatases and DNA tumor viruses: transformation through the back door?

AUTOR(ES)

Mumby, M C

RESUMO

Cellular transformation by many oncogenic viruses is mediated by alterations in signal transduction pathways that control normal growth and proliferation. Common targets for many transforming viruses are pathways regulated by protein phosphorylation. The biochemical control of proteins in these pathways is a dynamic process that is regulated by the relative activities of protein kinases and phosphatases. Although there are numerous examples of viral oncogenes that encode protein kinases (Hunter, 1991), until recently there has been no evidence linking altered phosphatase activity to transformation. In this review we describe a novel mechanism, utilized by small DNA tumor viruses, in which viral oncogenes bind to and regulate a cellular protein serine/threonine phosphatase. The currently available evidence indicates that alteration of phosphatase activity and subsequent changes in phosphorylation levels is an important step in transformation by these viruses.

Documentos Relacionados

• Toll-like receptors: the key to the stable door?
• Leucine Biosynthesis in Fungi: Entering Metabolism through the Back Door
• Antibiotics in agriculture: When is it time to close the barn door?
• Recombinants between endogenous and exogenous avian tumor viruses: role of the C region and other portions of the genome in the control of replication and transformation.
• Nucleotide Sequence Relationships of Avian RNA Tumor Viruses: Measurement of the Deletion in a Transformation-Defective Mutant of Rous Sarcoma Virus