Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh and National Cancer Institute, USA, have reported that HIV-1 proviruses can be involved in developing T cell lymphoma after integration into the signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) and lymphocyte-specific protein tyrosine kinase (LCK) genes. Generally, retroviruses involve in tumor formations in animals by inserting their genes in or near the oncogenes of the host cells and inducing their expression. The murine leukemia virus is shown to activate the LCK gene in mouse T cell lymphoma; the LCK gene overexpression leads to T cell lymphomas in transgenic mice.
HIV-1 provirus integrates into oncogenes HIV-1 is not identified to be involved directly in oncogenesis by integrating its genes in the host cells. However, the immunodeficiency caused by HIV-1 enhances the co-infection of human papillomavirus, Kaposi’s…
