Our own treacherous immune genes can cause cancer after viral infection

HPV (human papillomavirus) infection is widely known to induce cancer. Many of the mutations that cause this virally-induced cancer are caused by a family of genes that normally combats viral infections, finds new UCL research. This raises the possibility of developing drugs to regulate the activity of these genes to prevent HPV-associated cancers from developing and reduce the ability of existing cancers to evolve resistance to treatments. The research, published in Cell Reports, shows for the first time that genes from the 'APOBEC' family, which help to fight off viral infection, actually cause mutations that lead to HPV-associated cancer. "Genes from the APOBEC family encode proteins that modify the DNA of invading viruses, causing mutations that prevent the virus from replicating," explains senior author Dr Tim Fenton, of the Tumour Virus team at the UCL Cancer Institute. "We now provide evidence that they can also cause mutations in our own DNA after HPV infection, leading to cancer." Over 99% of cervical cancers are caused by HPV infection, and HPV is responsible for approximately 26,700 new cases of cancer each year in the United States. Previous genetic studies have shown associations between APOBEC genes and cancer.