A new study by scientists in the US suggests cold viruses may prove to be surprisingly valuable allies in the fight against cancer. The findings, published on 12 October in Cell, reveal how small proteins in a type of cold virus, hijack molecular mechanisms inside healthy cells, silence cancer-fighting genes and form sprawling 3D polymer webs that overpower cellular agents of growth and cancer suppression.

cancertumor



One of the ways E4-ORF3 promotes cancer is by preventing the p53 tumor suppressor protein from binding to its target genes.





E4-ORF3 “literally creates zip files of p53 target genes by compressing them until they can no longer be read”












the researchers could see the E4-ORF3 polymer bending, weaving and twisting its way through the nucleus









it may be possible to engineer “tumor-busting” viruses as the basis of a self-perpetuating cancer therapy