Virus in the Brain - CMV and glioblastoma (Scientific American)

[Guest guest]

My comments are in brackets. I'll dig up the actual studies tomorrow if anyone wants them.JimVirus in the BrainDoes a herpesvirus cause the deadly brain cancer glioblastoma? BY MELINDA WENNER(Scientific American; January 2009, Vol. 300(1): 18)More and more in recent years, cancer biologists are pointing their fingers at viruses. Human papillomavirus, they found, causes cervical cancer; hepatitis B induces liver cancer; and Epstein-Barr virus has been implicated in lymphoma. Most recently, scientists discovered that malignant brain tumors called glioblastoma multiforme, the late-stage version of the cancer that has afflicted Senator Kennedy of Massachusetts, are almost always teeming with cytomegalovirus (CMV), a common, typically harmless herpesvirus. Although the nature of the association is still a mystery, researchers are already taking advantage of the link to find new cancer treatments. The saga began in the late 1990s, when Cobbs, a neurosurgeon then at theUniversity of California, San Francisco, started pondering the link between inflammation and brain cancer. Malignant tumorsare often associated with abnormal immune activity, and he wanted to know why. “Is it just something that happens out of the blue, or is it possible that there’s something maybe driving that inflammatory cascade?” he recalls wondering. Because they elicit immune responses, infections immediately sprang to mind as possible candidates. Cobbs and his colleagues analyzed glioblastoma samples from 22 patients and found that all harbored CMV.Four out of five people have this virus, which remains in the body for life. Usually a person’s immune system keeps CMV in a latent state in which it does not replicate, but Cobbs found the virus actively reproducing in these tumor cells—and not in healthycells nearby. “It was stunningly obvious that these tumors were infected,” says Cobbs, whose fi ndings, published in Cancer Research in 2002, were confirmed in 2007 by Duke University neuro-oncologist Duane . What was not obvious was why, exactly, the infection was there. Did CMV cause the cancer, or did it simply proliferate in tumor cells? “It’s a chicken-and-egg question: What came first, the virus or the tumor?” points out. Glioblastoma patients have compromised immune systems, which might enable a latent CMV infection to reactivate, says. And CMV might be frequently found in brain tumor cells because these cells are easy to infi ltrate. A 2008 study Cobbs published in Nature revealed that a cell-surface receptor responsible for letting CMV inside is more frequently found on brain tumor cells than other cell types. Cobbs, now at San Francisco’s California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute, believes that CMV plays a more active role in generating tumors. He points to a study published in May in Science showing that CMV makes proteins that “turn off” human genes important for preventing unwanted cell growth [endocrine disruptors or other environmental insults? Metals affecting methylation of DNA, a known DNA control mechanism] , a prerequisite to tumor development. It is as if CMV is “clipping the brake line,” remarks study co-author Kalejta, a molecular virologist at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Other studies have shown that CMV can interrupt a cell’s ability to commit suicide when the cell growth has gone awry. Still, no one has shown that CMV can turn healthy cells into cancer cells, Kalejta notes. So although the virus has some of the tools necessary to cause cancer, there is no proof that it does. The good news is that when it comes to formulating cancer treatments, understanding the details of CMV’s link to brain cancer is less important than the link itself. “For our purposes, it doesn’t really matter,” says , whose lab focuses on new cancer treatments. “We see the presence of the virus as a unique opportunity to go after it as a target in tumor cells.” His lab has "trained” immune system cells to recognize CMV proteins and has used those cells to identify and kill CMV-infected tumor cells. [Oh goodie - yet another "vaccine" - although not a "traditional" (Jenner cowpox like) one..] and his colleagues are currently testing their vaccine—and a second version using a different immune cell—in clinical trials, and although they have not yet published their results, he says that outcomes look promising. Cobbs, for one, is hopeful. “I’m holding my breath,” he remarks. “It looks like this may be a radically new way to consider treating these tumors.”Sidebar:When Cleanliness Is Next to Malignancy Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infects about 80 percent of the population. So if CMV causes glioblastoma multiforme, as Cobbs of San Francisco’s California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute hypothesizes, why do only a small number of people develop brain tumors? Cobbs argues that the same question could be asked for known cancer-causing pathogens such as human papillomavirus: “That’s actually the dogma—that you have widespread infection and in only a small percentage of cases there is cancer.” In glioblastoma, he has noticed that the majority of patients are affluent, and he speculates that people infected with latent CMV might be more likely to get tumors if they grow up in hygienic environments.The idea stems from the “hygiene hypothesis,” used to explain the rising incidence of allergies in developed countries. It posits that childhood exposure to pathogens primes the immune system to respond appropriately; however, when people grow up in “superclean” environments, their immune system does not mature properly. [Gee, that old canard again - keeps coming up again and again and again - the immune system is either overstimulated with vaccines, or understimulated with super-clean environments, or both at the same time (kid is born, into a ultra-hygenic home, getting 36 shots and 14 (attenuated) diseases by the age of 2..] When infected with CMV, these patients might then be at a heightened risk for developing glioblastoma, Cobbs says— but he admits his idea is based on little more than a hunch.

[Guest guest]

CMV associated with African Green Monkey and the polio vaccine.

Maurine

Subject: "Virus in the Brain" - CMV and glioblastoma (Scientific American)To: "ABMD" <abmd >, " Binstock" Cc: "EOHarm" <EOHarm >Date: Friday, December 19, 2008, 3:12 AM

My comments are in brackets. I'll dig up the actual studies tomorrow if anyone wants them.

Jim

Virus in the Brain

Does a herpesvirus cause the deadly brain cancer glioblastoma? BY MELINDA WENNER

(Scientific American; January 2009, Vol. 300(1): 18)

More and more in recent years, cancer biologists are pointing their fingers at viruses. Human papillomavirus, they found, causes cervical cancer; hepatitis B induces liver cancer; and Epstein-Barr virus has been implicated in lymphoma. Most recently, scientists discovered that malignant brain tumors called glioblastoma multiforme, the late-stage version of the cancer that has afflicted Senator Kennedy of Massachusetts, are almost always teeming with cytomegalovirus (CMV), a common, typically harmless herpesvirus. Although the nature of the association is still a mystery, researchers are already taking advantage of the link to find new cancer treatments. The saga began in the late 1990s, when Cobbs, a neurosurgeon then at the

University of California, San Francisco, started pondering the link between inflammation and brain cancer. Malignant tumors

are often associated with abnormal immune activity, and he wanted to know why. “Is it just something that happens out of the blue, or is it possible that there’s something maybe driving that inflammatory cascade?” he recalls wondering. Because they elicit immune responses, infections immediately sprang to mind as possible candidates. Cobbs and his colleagues analyzed glioblastoma samples from 22 patients and found that all harbored CMV.

Four out of five people have this virus, which remains in the body for life. Usually a person’s immune system keeps CMV in a latent state in which it does not replicate, but Cobbs found the virus actively reproducing in these tumor cells—and not in healthy

cells nearby. “It was stunningly obvious that these tumors were infected,” says Cobbs, whose fi ndings, published in Cancer

Research in 2002, were confirmed in 2007 by Duke University neuro-oncologist Duane .

What was not obvious was why, exactly, the infection was there. Did CMV cause the cancer, or did it simply proliferate in tumor cells? “It’s a chicken-and- egg question: What came first, the virus or the tumor?” points out. Glioblastoma

patients have compromised immune systems, which might enable a latent CMV infection to reactivate, says. And CMV might be frequently found in brain tumor cells because these cells are easy to infi ltrate. A 2008 study Cobbs published in Nature revealed that a cell-surface receptor responsible for letting CMV inside is more frequently found on brain tumor cells than other

cell types.

Cobbs, now at San Francisco’s California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute, believes that CMV plays a more active role in generating tumors. He points to a study published in May in Science showing that CMV makes proteins that “turn off” human genes important for preventing unwanted cell growth [endocrine disruptors or other environmental insults? Metals affecting methylation of DNA, a known DNA control mechanism] , a prerequisite to tumor development. It is as if CMV is “clipping the brake line,” remarks study co-author Kalejta, a molecular virologist at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Other studies have shown that CMV can interrupt a cell’s ability to commit suicide when the cell growth has gone awry. Still, no one has shown that CMV can turn healthy cells into cancer cells, Kalejta notes. So although the virus has some

of the tools necessary to cause cancer, there is no proof that it does.

The good news is that when it comes to formulating cancer treatments, understanding the details of CMV’s link to brain cancer is less important than the link itself. “For our purposes, it doesn’t really matter,” says , whose lab focuses on new cancer treatments. “We see the presence of the virus as a unique opportunity to go after it as a target in tumor cells.” His lab has "trained” immune system cells to recognize CMV proteins and has used those cells to identify and kill CMV-infected tumor cells. [Oh goodie - yet another "vaccine" - although not a "traditional" (Jenner cowpox like) one..] and his colleagues are currently testing their vaccine—and a second version using a different immune cell—in clinical trials, and although they have not yet published their results, he says that outcomes look promising. Cobbs,

for one, is hopeful. “I’m holding my breath,” he remarks. “It looks like this may be a radically new way to consider treating these tumors.”

Sidebar:

When Cleanliness Is Next to Malignancy

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infects about 80 percent of the population. So if CMV causes glioblastoma multiforme, as Cobbs of San Francisco’s California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute hypothesizes, why do only a small number of people develop brain tumors? Cobbs argues that the same question could be asked for known cancer-causing pathogens such as human papillomavirus: “That’s actually the dogma—that you have widespread infection and in only a small percentage of cases there is cancer.” In glioblastoma, he has noticed that the majority of patients are affluent, and he speculates that people infected with latent CMV might be more likely to get tumors if they grow up in hygienic environments.

The idea stems from the “hygiene hypothesis,” used to explain the rising incidence of allergies in developed countries. It posits that childhood exposure to pathogens primes the immune system to respond appropriately; however, when people grow up in “superclean” environments, their immune system does not mature properly. [Gee, that old canard again - keeps coming up again and again and again - the immune system is either overstimulated with vaccines, or understimulated with super-clean environments, or both at the same time (kid is born, into a ultra-hygenic home, getting 36 shots and 14 (attenuated) diseases by the age of 2..] When infected with CMV, these patients might then be at a heightened risk for developing glioblastoma, Cobbs says— but he admits his idea is based on little more than a hunch.

[Guest guest]

>

> My comments are in brackets. I'll dig up the actual studies

tomorrow

> if anyone wants them.

>

> Jim

Hi Jim,

I would like to see the studies please, if you don't mind.

My son developed a fatal neurodegenerative condition after his school

age boosters and CMV is one of the viruses that he has had problems

with.

Thank you

Rosemary

>

> Virus in the Brain

> Does a herpesvirus cause the deadly brain cancer glioblastoma? BY

> MELINDA WENNER

> (Scientific American; January 2009, Vol. 300(1): 18)

>

> More and more in recent years, cancer biologists are pointing

their

> fingers at viruses. Human papillomavirus, they found, causes

cervical

> cancer; hepatitis B induces liver cancer; and Epstein-Barr virus

has

> been implicated in lymphoma. Most recently, scientists discovered

> that malignant brain tumors called glioblastoma multiforme, the

late-

> stage version of the cancer that has afflicted Senator

Kennedy

> of Massachusetts, are almost always teeming with cytomegalovirus

> (CMV), a common, typically harmless herpesvirus. Although the

nature

> of the association is still a mystery, researchers are already

taking

> advantage of the link to find new cancer treatments. The saga

began

> in the late 1990s, when Cobbs, a neurosurgeon then at the

> University of California, San Francisco, started pondering the

link

> between inflammation and brain cancer. Malignant tumors

> are often associated with abnormal immune activity, and he wanted

to

> know why. " Is it just something that happens out of the blue, or

is

> it possible that there's something maybe driving that inflammatory

> cascade? " he recalls wondering. Because they elicit immune

> responses, infections immediately sprang to mind as possible

> candidates. Cobbs and his colleagues analyzed glioblastoma samples

> from 22 patients and found that all harbored CMV.

>

> Four out of five people have this virus, which remains in the body

> for life. Usually a person's immune system keeps CMV in a latent

> state in which it does not replicate, but Cobbs found the virus

> actively reproducing in these tumor cells—and not in healthy

> cells nearby. " It was stunningly obvious that these tumors were

> infected, " says Cobbs, whose fi ndings, published in Cancer

> Research in 2002, were confirmed in 2007 by Duke University neuro-

> oncologist Duane .

>

> What was not obvious was why, exactly, the infection was there.

Did

> CMV cause the cancer, or did it simply proliferate in tumor cells?

> " It's a chicken-and-egg question: What came first, the virus or

the

> tumor? " points out. Glioblastoma

> patients have compromised immune systems, which might enable a

latent

> CMV infection to reactivate, says. And CMV might be

> frequently found in brain tumor cells because these cells are easy

to

> infi ltrate. A 2008 study Cobbs published in Nature revealed that

a

> cell-surface receptor responsible for letting CMV inside is more

> frequently found on brain tumor cells than other

> cell types.

>

> Cobbs, now at San Francisco's California Pacific Medical Center

> Research Institute, believes that CMV plays a more active role in

> generating tumors. He points to a study published in May in

Science

> showing that CMV makes proteins that " turn off " human genes

important

> for preventing unwanted cell growth [endocrine disruptors or other

> environmental insults? Metals affecting methylation of DNA, a

known

> DNA control mechanism] , a prerequisite to tumor development. It

is

> as if CMV is " clipping the brake line, " remarks study co-author

> Kalejta, a molecular virologist at the University of

Wisconsin–

> Madison. Other studies have shown that CMV can interrupt a cell's

> ability to commit suicide when the cell growth has gone awry.

Still,

> no one has shown that CMV can turn healthy cells into cancer

cells,

> Kalejta notes. So although the virus has some of the tools

necessary

> to cause cancer, there is no proof that it does.

>

> The good news is that when it comes to formulating cancer

treatments,

> understanding the details of CMV's link to brain cancer is less

> important than the link itself. " For our purposes, it doesn't

really

> matter, " says , whose lab focuses on new cancer

treatments.

> " We see the presence of the virus as a unique opportunity to go

after

> it as a target in tumor cells. " His lab has " trained " immune

system

> cells to recognize CMV proteins and has used those cells to

identify

> and kill CMV-infected tumor cells. [Oh goodie - yet another

> " vaccine " - although not a " traditional " (Jenner cowpox like)

one..]

> and his colleagues are currently testing their vaccine—and

a

> second version using a different immune cell—in clinical trials,

and

> although they have not yet published their results, he says that

> outcomes look promising. Cobbs, for one, is hopeful. " I'm holding

my

> breath, " he remarks. " It looks like this may be a radically new

way

> to consider treating these tumors. "

>

> Sidebar:

>

> When Cleanliness Is Next to Malignancy

> Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infects about 80 percent of the population.

So

> if CMV causes glioblastoma multiforme, as Cobbs of San

> Francisco's California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute

> hypothesizes, why do only a small number of people develop brain

> tumors? Cobbs argues that the same question could be asked for

known

> cancer-causing pathogens such as human papillomavirus: " That's

> actually the dogma—that you have widespread infection and in only

a

> small percentage of cases there is cancer. " In glioblastoma, he

has

> noticed that the majority of patients are affluent, and he

speculates

> that people infected with latent CMV might be more likely to get

> tumors if they grow up in hygienic environments.

>

> The idea stems from the " hygiene hypothesis, " used to explain the

> rising incidence of allergies in developed countries. It posits

that

> childhood exposure to pathogens primes the immune system to

respond

> appropriately; however, when people grow up in " superclean "

> environments, their immune system does not mature properly. [Gee,

> that old canard again - keeps coming up again and again and again -

> the immune system is either overstimulated with vaccines, or

> understimulated with super-clean environments, or both at the same

> time (kid is born, into a ultra-hygenic home, getting 36 shots and

14

> (attenuated) diseases by the age of 2..] When infected with CMV,

> these patients might then be at a heightened risk for developing

> glioblastoma, Cobbs says— but he admits his idea is based on

little

> more than a hunch.

>

[Guest guest]

hi.. I have herpes simplex 1.. I had one cold sore as a teen... no outbreaks until age 40.. and that began on my nose. after 3 outbreaks.. about 1 year apart... the last one in 2004.. went into my cornea, the same nerve runs from the tip of the nose to the eye... I am now on valtrex for the rest of my life. no outbreaks since. NOW... even though I did not break out again from teen to age 40... when I had my son I was 32.. did I pass it on to him????? could it have gone silently into his brain? how would I know? is there a blood test? and no. .he has never had an outbreak... thanks.. Lia

Re: "Virus in the Brain" - CMV and glioblastoma (Scientific American)

>

> My comments are in brackets. I'll dig up the actual studies tomorrow > if anyone wants them.

> > Jim

Hi Jim,

I would like to see the studies please, if you don't mind.

My son developed a fatal neurodegenerative condition after his school age boosters and CMV is one of the viruses that he has had problems with.

Thank you

Rosemary

> > Virus in the Brain

> Does a herpesvirus cause the deadly brain cancer glioblastoma? BY > MELINDA WENNER

> (Scientific American; January 2009, Vol. 300(1): 18)

> > More and more in recent years, cancer biologists are pointing their > fingers at viruses. Human papillomavirus, they found, causes cervical > cancer; hepatitis B induces liver cancer; and Epstein-Barr virus has > been implicated in lymphoma. Most recently, scientists discovered > that malignant brain tumors called glioblastoma multiforme, the late- > stage version of the cancer that has afflicted Senator Kennedy > of Massachusetts, are almost always teeming with cytomegalovirus > (CMV), a common, typically harmless herpesvirus. Although the nature > of the association is still a mystery, researchers are already taking > advantage of the link to find new cancer treatments. The saga began > in the late 1990s, when Cobbs, a neurosurgeon then at the

> University of California, San Francisco, started pondering the link > between inflammation and brain cancer. Malignant tumors

> are often associated with abnormal immune activity, and he wanted to > know why. "Is it just something that happens out of the blue, or is > it possible that there's something maybe driving that inflammatory > casc

ade?" he recalls wondering. Because they elicit immune > responses, infections immediately sprang to mind as possible > candidates. Cobbs and his colleagues analyzed glioblastoma samples > from 22 patients and found that all harbored CMV.

> > Four out of five people have this virus, which remains in the body > for life. Usually a person's immune system keeps CMV in a latent > state in which it does not replicate, but Cobbs found the virus > actively reproducing in these tumor cells—and not in healthy

> cells nearby. "It was stunningly obvious that these tumors were > infected," says Cobbs, whose fi ndings, published in Cancer

> Research in 2002, were confirmed in 2007 by Duke University neuro- > oncologist Duane .

> > What was not obvious was why, exactly, the infection was there. Did > CMV cause the cancer, or did it simply proliferate in tumor cells? > "It's a chicken-and-egg question: What came first, the virus or the > tumor?" points out. Glioblastoma

> patients have compromised immune systems, which might enable a latent > CMV infection to reactivate, says. And CMV might be > frequently found in brain tumor cells because these cells are easy to > infi ltrate. A 2008 study Cobbs published in Nature revealed that a > cell-surface receptor responsible for letting CMV inside is mor

e > frequently found on brain tumor cells than other

> cell types.

> > Cobbs, now at San Francisco's California Pacific Medical Center > Research Institute, believes that CMV plays a more active role in > generating tumors. He points to a study published in May in Science > showing that CMV makes proteins that "turn off" human genes important > for preventing unwanted cell growth [endocrine disruptors or other > environmental insults? Metals affecting methylation of DNA, a known > DNA control mechanism] , a prerequisite to tumor development. It is > as if CMV is "clipping the brake line," remarks study co-author > Kalejta, a molecular virologist at the University of Wisconsin– > Madison. Other studies have shown that CMV can interrupt a cell's > ability to commit suicide when the cell growth has gone awry. Still, > no one has shown that CMV can turn healthy cells into cancer cells, > Kalejta notes. So although the virus has some of the tools necessary > to cause cancer, there is no proof that it does.

> > The good news is that when it comes to formulating cancer treatments, > understanding the details of CMV's link to brain cancer is less > important than the link itself. "For our purposes, it doesn't really > matter," says , whose lab focuses on new c

ancer treatments. > "We see the presence of the virus as a unique opportunity to go after > it as a target in tumor cells." His lab has "trained" immune system > cells to recognize CMV proteins and has used those cells to identify > and kill CMV-infected tumor cells. [Oh goodie - yet another > "vaccine" - although not a "traditional" (Jenner cowpox like) one..] > and his colleagues are currently testing their vaccine—and a > second version using a different immune cell—in clinical trials, and > although they have not yet published their results, he says that > outcomes look promising. Cobbs, for one, is hopeful. "I'm holding my > breath," he remarks. "It looks like this may be a radically new way > to consider treating these tumors."

> > Sidebar:

> > When Cleanliness Is Next to Malignancy

> Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infects about 80 percent of the population. So > if CMV causes glioblastoma multiforme, as Cobbs of San > Francisco's California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute > hypothesizes, why do only a small number of people develop brain > tumors? Cobbs argues that the same question could be asked for known > cancer-causing pathogens such as human papillomavirus: "That's > actually the dogma—that you have widespread infection and in o

nly a > small percentage of cases there is cancer." In glioblastoma, he has > noticed that the majority of patients are affluent, and he speculates > that people infected with latent CMV might be more likely to get > tumors if they grow up in hygienic environments.

> > The idea stems from the "hygiene hypothesis," used to explain the > rising incidence of allergies in developed countries. It posits that > childhood exposure to pathogens primes the immune system to respond > appropriately; however, when people grow up in "superclean" > environments, their immune system does not mature properly. [Gee, > that old canard again - keeps coming up again and again and again -

> the immune system is either overstimulated with vaccines, or > understimulated with super-clean environments, or both at the same > time (kid is born, into a ultra-hygenic home, getting 36 shots and 14 > (attenuated) diseases by the age of 2..] When infected with CMV, > these patients might then be at a heightened risk for developing > glioblastoma, Cobbs says— but he admits his idea is based on little > more than a hunch.

>

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