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Munger, Karl

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Munger

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Karl

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Munger, Karl

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2012 - 20134

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Author's Publications: search.filters.isAuthorOfPublication.906a2550-4588-451a-8355-ee08f009b95b

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Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    Biochemical and Functional Interactions of Human Papillomavirus Proteins with Polycomb Group Proteins
    (MDPI, 2013) McLaughlin-Drubin, Margaret E.; Munger, Karl
    The role of enzymes involved in polycomb repression of gene transcription has been studied extensively in human cancer. Polycomb repressive complexes mediate oncogene-induced senescence, a principal innate cell-intrinsic tumor suppressor pathway that thwarts expansion of cells that have suffered oncogenic hits. Infections with human cancer viruses including human papillomaviruses (HPVs) and Epstein-Barr virus can trigger oncogene-induced senescence, and the viruses have evolved strategies to abrogate this response in order to establish an infection and reprogram their host cells to establish a long-term persistent infection. As a consequence of inhibiting polycomb repression and evading oncogene induced-senescence, HPV infected cells have an altered epigenetic program as evidenced by aberrant homeobox gene expression. Similar alterations are frequently observed in non-virus associated human cancers and may be harnessed for diagnosis and therapy.
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    Modulation of Autophagy-Like Processes by Tumor Viruses
    (MDPI, 2012) Mack, Hildegard I. D.; Munger, Karl
    Autophagy is an intracellular degradation pathway for long-lived proteins and organelles. This process is activated above basal levels upon cell intrinsic or environmental stress and dysregulation of autophagy has been linked to various human diseases, including those caused by viral infection. Many viruses have evolved strategies to directly interfere with autophagy, presumably to facilitate their replication or to escape immune detection. However, in some cases, modulation of autophagy appears to be a consequence of the virus disturbing the cell’s metabolic signaling networks. Here, we summarize recent advances in research at the interface of autophagy and viral infection, paying special attention to strategies that human tumor viruses have evolved.
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    Interpreting Cancer Genomes Using Systematic Host Perturbations by Tumour Virus Proteins
    (Nature Publishing Group, 2012) Rozenblatt-Rosen, Orit; Deo, Rahul C.; Dricot, Amélie; Askenazi, Manor; Tavares, Maria; Abderazzaq, Fieda; Byrdsong, Danielle; Correll, Mick; Fan, Changyu; Feltkamp, Mariet C.; Franchi, Rachel; Garg, Brijesh K.; Gulbahce, Natali; Hao, Tong; Korkhin, Anna; Litovchick, Larisa; Mar, Jessica C.; Pak, Theodore R.; Rabello, Sabrina; Rubio, Renee; Shen, Yun; Tasan, Murat; Wanamaker, Shelly; Roecklein-Canfield, Jennifer; Johannsen, Eric; Barabási, Albert-László; Padi, Megha; Adelmant, Guillaume; Calderwood, Michael; Rolland, Thomas; Grace, Miranda; Pevzner, Samuel; Carvunis, Anne-Ruxandra; Chen, Alyce; Cheng, Jingwei; Duarte, Melissa; Ficarro, Scott; Holthaus, Amy Marie; James, Robert; Singh, Saurav; Spangle, Jennifer; Webber, James T.; Beroukhim, Rameen; Kieff, Elliott; Cusick, Michael; Hill, David; Munger, Karl; Marto, Jarrod; Quackenbush, John; Roth, Fritz; DeCaprio, James; Vidal, Marc
    Genotypic differences greatly influence susceptibility and resistance to disease. Understanding genotype-phenotype relationships requires that phenotypes be viewed as manifestations of network properties, rather than simply as the result of individual genomic variations. Genome sequencing efforts have identified numerous germline mutations associated with cancer predisposition and large numbers of somatic genomic alterations. However, it remains challenging to distinguish between background, or “passenger” and causal, or “driver” cancer mutations in these datasets. Human viruses intrinsically depend on their host cell during the course of infection and can elicit pathological phenotypes similar to those arising from mutations. To test the hypothesis that genomic variations and tumour viruses may cause cancer via related mechanisms, we systematically examined host interactome and transcriptome network perturbations caused by DNA tumour virus proteins. The resulting integrated viral perturbation data reflects rewiring of the host cell networks, and highlights pathways that go awry in cancer, such as Notch signalling and apoptosis. We show that systematic analyses of host targets of viral proteins can identify cancer genes with a success rate on par with their identification through functional genomics and large-scale cataloguing of tumour mutations. Together, these complementary approaches result in increased specificity for cancer gene identification. Combining systems-level studies of pathogen-encoded gene products with genomic approaches will facilitate prioritization of cancer-causing driver genes so as to advance understanding of the genetic basis of human cancer.
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    The HPV16 E6 Oncoprotein Causes Prolonged Receptor Protein Tyrosine Kinase Signaling and Enhances Internalization of Phosphorylated Receptor Species
    (Public Library of Science, 2013) Spangle, Jennifer; Munger, Karl
    The high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) E6 proteins are consistently expressed in HPV-associated lesions and cancers. HPV16 E6 sustains the activity of the mTORC1 and mTORC2 signaling cascades under conditions of growth factor deprivation. Here we report that HPV16 E6 activated mTORC1 by enhanced signaling through receptor protein tyrosine kinases, including epidermal growth factor receptor and insulin receptor and insulin-like growth factor receptors. This is evidenced by sustained signaling through these receptors for several hours after growth factor withdrawal. HPV16 E6 increased the internalization of activated receptor species, and the signaling adaptor protein GRB2 was shown to be critical for HPV16 E6 mediated enhanced EGFR internalization and mTORC1 activation. As a consequence of receptor protein kinase mediated mTORC1 activation, HPV16 E6 expression increased cellular migration of primary human epithelial cells. This study identifies a previously unappreciated mechanism by which HPV E6 proteins perturb host-signaling pathways presumably to sustain protein synthesis during the viral life cycle that may also contribute to cellular transforming activities of high-risk HPV E6 proteins.