APOBEC3 genes: retroviral restriction factors to cancer drivers

Henderson, S and Fenton, TR (2015) APOBEC3 genes: retroviral restriction factors to cancer drivers. Trends in Molecular Medicine, 21 (5), 274-284. (doi:10.1016/j.molmed.2015.02.007).

Record type: Article

Abstract

The APOBEC3 cytosine deaminases play key roles in innate immunity through their ability to mutagenize viral DNA and restrict viral replication. Recent advances in cancer genomics, together with biochemical characterization of the APOBEC3 enzymes, have now implicated at least two family members in somatic mutagenesis during tumor development. We review the evidence linking these enzymes to carcinogenesis and highlight key questions, including the potential mechanisms that misdirect APOBEC3 activity to the host genome, the links to viral infection, and the association between a common APOBEC3 polymorphism and cancer risk.

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Published date: 25 March 2015

Additional Information: copyright 2015. This manuscript version is published under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial Non-derivative 4.0 International licence (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0). This licence allows you to share, copy, distribute and transmit the work for personal and non-commercial use providing author and publisher attribution is clearly stated. Further details about CC BY licences are available at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0.

Keywords: APOBEC, cancer, mutagenesis, Animals, Carcinogenesis, Cytosine Deaminase, Humans, Immunity, Innate, Mutagenesis, Neoplasms, Retroviridae, Risk, Virus Replication