Abstract
The human virome, which is a collection of all the viruses that are present in the human body, is increasingly being recognized as an essential part of the human microbiota. The human gastrointestinal tract and related organs (e.g., liver, pancreas, and gallbladder)—composing the gastrointestinal (or digestive) system—contain a huge number of viral particles which contribute to maintaining tissue homeostasis and keeping our body healthy. However, perturbations of the virome steady-state may, both directly and indirectly, ignite/sustain oncogenic mechanisms contributing to the initiation of a dysplastic process and/or cancer progression. In this review, we summarize and discuss the available evidence on the association and role of viruses in the development of cancers of the digestive system.
Highlights
The human microbiota represents one of the most complex ecosystems on Earth, spanning bacteria, archaea, fungi, and viruses
The virome composition changes within different organs/tissues, as each compartment of the body is characterized by a distinctive microenvironment
A virome includes all of the nucleic acids belonging to the viruses associated with a particular ecosystem [9]
Summary
The human microbiota represents one of the most complex ecosystems on Earth, spanning bacteria, archaea, fungi, and viruses. Such microbes have coevolved with humans for millions of years, influencing our development and shaping, in particular, our immune defenses [1]. The microbiota is considered to be crucial for our immune, hormonal, and metabolic homeostasis, and perturbations in its composition contribute to the emergence of various diseases, such as inflammatory bowel diseases, obesity, and metabolic syndrome [2]. Virome steady-state perturbations may ignite different diseases, such as hepatitis and inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs), and recent research is shedding light on the role of viral entities in promoting dysplasia and cancer. We summarize and discuss the available evidence on the association and role of viruses in the initiation and development of cancers of the gastrointestinal system
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