Polyploid Giant Cancer Cells, Stemness and Epithelial-mesenchymal Plasticity Elicited by Human Cytomegalovirus

Overview

Journal Oncogene

Specialties Molecular Biology
Oncology

Date 2021 Mar 26

PMID 33767437

Citations 32

Authors

Zeina Nehme

Sebastien Pasquereau

Sandy Haidar Ahmad

Alain Coaquette

Chloe Molimard

Franck Monnien

Marie-Paule Algros

Olivier Adotevi

Mona Diab Assaf

Jean-Paul Feugeas

Georges Herbein

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

A growing body of evidence is recognizing human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) as a potential oncogenic virus. We hereby provide the first experimental in vitro evidence for HCMV as a reprogramming vector, through the induction of dedifferentiation of mature human mammary epithelial cells (HMECs), generation of a polyploid giant cancer cell (PGCC) phenotype characterized by sustained growth of blastomere-like cells, in concordance with the acquisition of embryonic stem cells characteristics and epithelial-mesenchymal plasticity. HCMV presence parallels the succession of the observed cellular and molecular events potentially ensuing the transformation process. Correlation between PGCCs detection and HCMV presence in breast cancer tissue further validates our hypothesis in vivo. Our study indicates that some clinical HCMV strains conserve the potential to transform HMECs and fit with a "blastomere-like" model of oncogenesis, which may be relevant in the pathophysiology of breast cancer and other adenocarcinoma, especially of poor prognosis.

Citing Articles

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Role of the CTCF/p300 axis in osteochondrogenic-like differentiation of polyploid giant cancer cells with daughter cells.

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Polyploid Giant Cancer Cells: A Distinctive Feature in the Transformation of Epithelial Cells by High-Risk Oncogenic HCMV Strains.

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