Herpes Simplex Virus and Cancer

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Herpes Simplex Virus 1, also known as oral herpes, is responsible for causing sores in the mouth and lip region when infected¹. It can be spread by oral secretions such as kissing and sharing objects that have contact with saliva¹. It is estimated that up to 90% of people in the United States have had contact with HSV-1 by the age of 50². The virus has the ability to lay dormant for some time in the nerve cells until it gets triggered again, forming somewhat painful lesions¹ that last two to three weeks⁴. There is no cure for Herpes, however there are treatments that allow for the lessening of these lesions and pain that are typical of patients with the HSV virus¹.

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HSV-1 virus present on the gums of a patient.

Kaposi sarcoma is a type of cancer that can be formed in the lining of the mouth, nose, throat and lymph nodes ³ and it characterized by purple or red spots on the skin⁵. It also has the ability to damage internal organs and cause breathlessness, bleeding gums, and stomach pains⁵. This rare cancer was found to be caused by the HSV virus, which is fairly common in the population, yet most people do not develop the cancer⁵.Kaposi sarcoma was very common in men of Middle Eastern descent but has now been shown to be common in AIDS patients³ and others who have weakened immune systems⁵. There are various ways to try to reduce the cancer, such as the common technique of chemotherapy and radiotherapy but the cancer may never be eliminated⁵.

File:Http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1c/Kaposis sarcoma 01.jpg

Kaposi sarcoma patches present on an HIV positive individual.

HSV-1

Understanding the molecular blueprint of HSV-1 is important in

Pathway of HSV-1

There are a plethora of protein to protein interactions that makeup the Herpes Simplex Virus pathway. One of the key characteristics in the replication and formation of this virus is the presence of capsids which hold the viral genome and which are generated by the interaction of two proteins, pUL19 and pUL6⁶. This is important to cause lysis of the host cell while keeping the viral genome intact⁶. A series of viral and cellular proteins are then combined to form a complex to create a proper environment for the virus to conduct primary envelopment and enter the inner nuclear membrane⁶. It then exits the nuclear membrane and the capsids undergo secondary envelopment which causes the mature herpes virus to emerge and spread throughput the body as an active virus⁶.

Evolution of HSV-1

The Herpes Simplex 1 has evolved over time in different parts of the world, each being comprised of a different strain⁷. A phylogenetic tree conducted by gene sequencing revealed that there were six clades the herpes virus-1 can be categorized into based on geographic origin, one clade being form North America/Europe another from Asia and the other four being from Africa⁷. They each share a common ancestor at one point in time until they mutated as they made their way across the different areas of the world and faced selective pressures. It was also shown that the original strain of HSV came out of Africa and then diverged, with HSV-1 and HSV-2 diverging about 2.2. million years ago which corresponds to roughly the same time the genus homo was created⁷.

Clinical Characterization of HSV-1

A transmission electron micrograph(TEM) of negatively stained Herpes Simplex Virus.By CDC/ Dr. Fred Murphy [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons]

Overall paper length should be 3,000 words, with at least 3 figures with data.

Karposi Sarcoma

Include some current research in each topic, with at least one figure showing data.

HSV-1 and Kaposi Sarcoma

Include some current research in each topic, with at least one figure showing data.

Further Reading

[Sample link] Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever—Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Special Pathogens Branch

References

1. Johnson, Traci. "Herpes Simplex: Herpes Type 1 and 2." Genetial Herpes Health Center. Web MD. Web.

2. "Mouth Infections." Health Library. Johns Hopkins Medicine. Web.

3. Derrer, David. "HIV, AIDS, and Kaposi Sarcoma." HIV & AIDS Health Center. Web MD. Web.

4. Davis, Charles. "Oral Herpes (HSV-1, Herpes Simplex Virus-1) Symptoms and Signs." Oral Herpes. Emedicinehealth. Web.

5. "Kaposi's Sarcoma." NHS Choices. Web.

6. Mettenleiter TC, Klupp BG, Granzow H (2006). "Herpesvirus assembly: a tale of two membranes". Curr. Opin. Microbiol. 9 (4): 423–9

7. Kolb AW, Ané C, Brandt CR (2013) Using HSV-1 genome phylogenetics to track past human migrations" PLoS One 8(10)

Edited by Alejandro Zuniga, a student of Nora Sullivan in BIOL168L (Microbiology) in The Keck Science Department of the Claremont Colleges Spring 2015.