Viral Genome And Oncogenic Transformation: Nuclear And Plasma Membrane Events

Abstract

This chapter deals with the nature of oncogenic viruses, the properties of the different fractions of viral genome, and the interaction of the viral genome and the target cell. It illustrates the modification of the nucleus during the transformation of the cell, and particularly the chromosome modifications, the antigenic modifications, and the regulation of the expression of the viral genome. The first established fact is the integration of the genetic information of viral origin into the stock of cellular genetic information. The exact site of this integration is not known, but it is well established that it takes place at the chromosome level. It has been shown that the important point of the transformation is that the virus does not undergo a complete vegetative cycle. The question is whether this incapacity to multiply is of viral origin or of cellular origin. The chapter shows two contradictory hypotheses: (1) one calls upon an inhibitor of cellular origin in the nonpermissive cells, (2) the other is in favor of a viral inability and would prove the viral deficiency in this type of cells. Once the integration is carried out, the interesting phenomena are the consequences of the expression of the genetic information of viral origin at the level of the cell. For a long time, the initiation of cellular DNA synthesis is considered as one of the essential actions of the viral genome in the transformed cell.