p_travers at icrf.icnet.uk (Paul J Travers) wrote:
>EBV and some related viruses appear to have acquired IL10. Does anyone
>know of other examples where pathogens have acquired cytokines or their
>receptors and have subverted them to their own ends?
Anton Scott Goustin replies:
This is a very common theme among viruses. For example, vaccinia virus
uses an EGF-like growth factor to fool the host. It is 57% similar to
human EGF:
>sp|P01136|GRFA_VACCV GROWTH FACTOR. >pir|A01391|WMVZ9 growth factor - vaccinia
virus
Length = 140
Score = 64 (30.5 bits), Expect = 4.1e-07, Sum P(2) = 4.1e-07
Identities = 11/27 (40%), Positives = 15/27 (55%)
Query: 18 GVCMYIEALDKYACNCVVGYIGERCQY 44
G C++ +D C C GY G RCQ+
Sbjct: 56 GDCIHARDIDGMYCRCSHGYTGIRCQH 82
Score = 42 (20.0 bits), Expect = 4.1e-07, Sum P(2) = 4.1e-07
Identities = 7/11 (63%), Positives = 7/11 (63%)
Query: 6 CPLSHDGYCLH 16
C DGYCLH
Similarly, variola (smallpox) virus encodes an EGF-like molecule, also 57% similar in amino acid sequence to human EGF:
>gp|L22579|VARCG_4 Variola major virus (strain Bangladesh-1975) complete
genome. [variola major virus]
Length = 140
Score = 70 (33.4 bits), Expect = 1.1e-06, Sum P(2) = 1.1e-06
Identities = 11/27 (40%), Positives = 16/27 (59%)
Query: 18 GVCMYIEALDKYACNCVVGYIGERCQY 44
G+C++ +D C C GY G RCQ+
Sbjct: 56 GICIHARDIDGMYCRCSHGYTGIRCQH 82
Score = 33 (15.7 bits), Expect = 1.1e-06, Sum P(2) = 1.1e-06
Identities = 5/11 (45%), Positives = 6/11 (54%)
Query: 6 CPLSHDGYCLH 16
C +GYC H
Sbjct: 45 CGPEGNGYCFH 55
NOTE CONSERVATION OF ALL CYSTEINE RESIDUES (ABOVE).
The classic examples come from the acutely-transforming retroviruses. The first example was the sis oncogene from the simian sarcoma virus, discovered in 1983 by Antoniades, Heldin and Waterfield. The sis oncogene encodes a protein very similar to platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) B chain. A second example was discovered a year later, as the erbB oncogene from the avian erythroblastosis virus. The erbB oncogene encodes a truncated version of the epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor, in particular, its constitutively-active (always-on) tyrosine kinase (TK). Similarly in the feline sarcoma virus, the oncogene is fms, related to the host's receptor for colony stimulating factor (CSF)-1....and on and on.
