Department of Microbiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104-6076, USA; email:
Annu Rev Virol. 2020 Sep 29;7(1):289-307. doi: 10.1146/annurev-virology-011720-121757. Epub 2020 Jun 30.
Viral infection underlies a significant share of the global cancer burden. Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCPyV) is the newest member of the human oncogenic virus family. Its discovery over a decade ago marked the beginning of an exciting era in human tumor virology. Since then, significant evidence has emerged to support the etiologic role of MCPyV in Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC), an extremely lethal form of skin cancer. MCPyV infection is widespread in the general population. MCC diagnoses have tripled over the past 20 years, but effective treatments are currently lacking. In this review, we highlight recent discoveries that have shaped our understanding of MCPyV oncogenic mechanism and host cellular tropism, as well as the molecular events occurring in the viral infectious life cycle. These insights will guide future efforts in developing novel virus-targeted therapeutic strategies for treating the devastating human cancers associated with this new tumorigenic virus.
病毒感染是全球癌症负担的重要组成部分。 Merkel 细胞多瘤病毒(MCPyV)是人类致癌病毒家族的最新成员。十多年前的发现标志着人类肿瘤病毒学的一个激动人心的时代的开始。从那时起,大量证据支持 MCPyV 在 Merkel 细胞癌(MCC)中的病因作用,MCC 是一种极其致命的皮肤癌。MCPyV 感染在普通人群中广泛存在。在过去的 20 年中,MCC 的诊断增加了两倍,但目前仍缺乏有效的治疗方法。在这篇综述中,我们强调了最近的发现,这些发现塑造了我们对 MCPyV 致癌机制和宿主细胞嗜性以及病毒感染生命周期中发生的分子事件的理解。这些见解将指导未来开发针对这种新致癌病毒相关人类癌症的新型病毒靶向治疗策略的努力。