Prostate, breast and gynecological cancer markers RAK with homology to HIV-1

Rakowicz-Szulczynska, Eva M.; Jackson, Betty; Snyder, William B.

doi:10.1016/s0304-3835(97)00483-7

Cited by 10 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…The chronic immune activation associated with a high viral load has been shown to lead to the release of factors such as macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP-1) which inhibit apoptosis via p53 suppression, and these factors provide an environment in which cancer cells may flourish. 3 Further work has demonstrated homology with the HIV gene for gp41 and DNA fragments isolated from prostate cancer tissue samples, 4 which raises the possibility of a causal link between HIV and prostate cancer.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Should HIV patients be considered a high risk group for the development of prostate cancer?

Quatan

Nair²,

Harrowes³

et al. 2005

Ann R Coll Surg Engl

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INTRODUCTION Only very few case reports exist regarding the incidence of prostate cancer in younger HIV-infected patients.PATIENTS AND METHODS Two incidences of HIV-infected men diagnosed with prostate cancer, from a cohort of about 200 men treated at St George's Hospital aged 40 years or more are reported. DISCUSSION On the basis of the evidence presented in both case reports and from the literature, clinicians should be aware that men with HIV infection should be considered a high-risk group for prostate cancer, and consider early PSA screening.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Should HIV patients be considered a high risk group for the development of prostate cancer?

Quatan

Nair²,

Harrowes³

et al. 2005

Ann R Coll Surg Engl

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“…The amount of DNA template used was 1.0 g/50 l of the reaction mixture. The reactions ran for 30 cycles in a Perkin-Elmer 9600 thermal cycler (21,22). Both primers, SK68 (positions 7801 to 7820, region gp41 Env; 5Ј-AGCAGCAGGAAGCACTATGG-3Ј) and SK69 (positions 7922 to 7942, region gp41 Env; 5Ј-CCAGACTGTGAGTTGCAAGAG-3Ј), were derived from the HIV-1 genome.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Both primers, SK68 (positions 7801 to 7820, region gp41 Env; 5Ј-AGCAGCAGGAAGCACTATGG-3Ј) and SK69 (positions 7922 to 7942, region gp41 Env; 5Ј-CCAGACTGTGAGTTGCAAGAG-3Ј), were derived from the HIV-1 genome. All DNA samples which tested negative with primers SK68 and SK69, as well as approximately 50% of the PCR-positive samples, were tested with a control set of primers derived from the globin gene (21). Each set of PCRs included DNA isolated from HIV-1-infected lymphocytes (positive control).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Since MMTV-like sequences are present in cancer patients, as well as in healthy patients, an involvement of this virus in the etiology of human cancer remains controversial. Our recent studies indicated that breast, ovarian, uterine, cervical, and vulvar cancers in women (22-26, 28, 29) and prostate cancer in men (21) express unique antigens, named after the investigator E. M. Rakowicz-Szulczynska (RAK). RAK markers react with the epitope-specific monoclonal antibody (MAb) directed against human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) envelope protein gp120 (27).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition to HIV-1-like antigens, DNA segments (142 bp) with 90 to 96% homology to the HIV-1 gene encoding the transmembrane protein gp41 have also been identified in breast (22,24) and prostate cancers (21). The DNA sequences with homology to HIV-1 have been deposited in the GenBank as the breast and prostate cancer-associated RAK alpha genes.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Relevance of the Viral RAK Alpha Gene in Diagnosis of Malignant Versus Nonmalignant Tumors of the Ovary and Uterus

Rakowicz-Szulczynska

2000

Clin Diagn Lab Immunol

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Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)-like antigens RAK (named after the inventor E. M. Rakowicz) p120, p42, and p25, as well as HIV-1-like segments of cancer DNA (RAK gene alpha), have been found before in breast and prostate cancers. The present study focused on determining the value of markers RAK in the diagnosis and prognosis of gynecological cancer. Expression of RAK antigens in ovarian, uterine, cervical, and vulvar cancer, in benign tumors, in tissues adjacent to cancer, and in normal tissues was tested by Western blot hybridization of the electrophoretically separated proteins with monoclonal antibody RAK BrI. The RAK alpha gene was PCR amplified with HIV-1-derived primers SK68 and SK69. RAK antigens p120, p42, and p25 were found in 95% of ovarian, uterine, and cervical cancer cases and in 75% of vulvar cancer cases. The RAK alpha gene was expressed in 100% of cancer cases, in approximately 25% of benign ovarian tumors, and in 40% of benign tumors of the uterus. DNA sequences amplified in all cancer cases exhibited more than 90% homology to HIV-1 gp41 and were encoded for the functional peptide. DNA sequences found in benign tumors contained frameshift mutations and encoded truncated or nonfunctional peptides. Such sequences have not been amplified in normal tissues. RAK antigens and the RAK alpha gene seem to belong to a lentivirus type that is highly related to HIV-1. Beyond the diagnostic value of RAK markers, future cloning of the full viral genome would lead to a better understanding of the etiology of malignant and nonmalignant tumors of reproductive organs and to the development of novel therapeutic approaches.Cancers of the reproductive organs are the most common malignancies in women (7,13,19). Prognostic factors for those patients are directly dependent on the stage of the cancer at diagnosis. Earlier detection of breast, ovarian, cervical, or endometrial cancer would significantly increase survival rates of female patients (9,20,30). Only 10% of breast and 5% of ovarian cancer cases have a documented inherited pattern, associated mainly with the mutated genes BRCA (15,18,34) or the oncogene Her-2/Neu (31).Except for cervical cancer, which is predominantly associated with human papillomavirus (HPV) (2,8,14,17), a viral etiology of other types of female reproductive tract cancers remains unverified. However, the fact that the majority of papillomavirus-infected women do not develop cervical cancer strongly implies that HPV may be an important cofactor, but not the direct cause, of that cancer. Recent studies of herpesvirus-like DNA sequences in AIDS-associated Kaposi's sarcoma (3) strongly suggest that the role of retroviruses in human cancer was somehow underestimated for a long time.Viral particles (4, 5, 6, 10, 11, 16) and DNA sequences (1, 32, 33) with homology to the mouse mammary tumor virus (MMTV) have been observed in breast cancer for some time. Since MMTV-like sequences are present in cancer patients, as well as in healthy patients, an involvement of this virus in the etiology o...

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