Rakowica-Szulczynska EM, Smith M; American Society for Microbiology. General Meeting.

Abstr Gen Meet Am Soc Microbiol. 1999 May 30-Jun 3; 99: 628 (abstract no. T-4).

University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha.

Markers RAK (RAKOWICZ markers) represent a new class of tumor antigens, which crossreact with monoclonal antibody (MAb) directed against the variable loop V3 of Human Immunodeficiency Virus I (HIV-1), and presumably belong to a new retrovirus. Antigens RAK are expressed by 95% of breast, ovarian, uterine, and cervical cancer cases in women, and prostate cancer cases in men, but are absent in normal tissues. Primer SK68/SK69, derived from the HIV-1 gp4l amplify 142bp fragments of cancer DNA with 90% homology to HIV-1 (Gene RAK alpha) New studies indicated that two codons, (methionine in the position 11 and glutamic acid in the position 36) were consistently substituted in all cancer types, while other mutations were unique for each type of cancer. Frame-shift mutations in the gene RAK alpha were found in several uterine and ovarian benign tumors, but not in benign prostate hyper plasia. Viral particles, immunogold labeled with MAb anti-HIV-1 gp120 were also detected in breast, cervical and ovarian cancers but not in benign ovarian tumors. One rare benign tumor of the ovary (Brenner tumor) showed no mutation of the RAK alpha, but also no expression of antigens RAK. After 2 months in cell culture, strong expression of antigens RAK was detected by fluerescense staining and by Western blotting with MAb anti- HIV-1, which was accompanied by syncytia formation and production of viral particles. Viral particles from Brenner tumor transformed morphologically normal breast cells to the same degree, as viral particles isolated from ovarian cancer cells. We suggest that a family of lentiviruses, homologous to HIV-1 may be involved in etiology of malignancies of human reproductive organs. Since cancer antigens RAK and the gene RAK alpha exhibit higher similarity to HIV than HIV to SIV, the possibility that either these cancer viruses evolved from the same ancestor as HIV, or HIV evolved from the cancer virus, cannot be ruled out.

Publication Types:

• Meeting Abstracts

Keywords:

• AIDS Vaccines
• Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome
• Antigens, Neoplasm
• Blotting, Western
• Breast
• Breast Neoplasms
• Carcinoma
• Carcinoma, Lobular
• FRK protein, human
• Female
• HIV
• HIV Antibodies
• HIV Antigens
• HIV Envelope Protein gp120
• HIV Envelope Protein gp160
• HIV Envelope Protein gp41
• HIV Infections
• HIV Seropositivity
• HIV-1
• Humans
• Lentivirus
• Male
• Neoplasm Proteins
• Ovarian Neoplasms
• Prostatic Neoplasms
• Simian immunodeficiency virus
• Virus Diseases
• immunology

Other ID:

• 20712221

UI: 102195751

From Meeting Abstracts