Welcome to the Microbiology Information

The intriguing possibility that a virus which causes cancer in mice could also spread in humans has been raised by laboratory scientists……. again

The Austrian-led team found that mouse mammary tumour virus (MMTV) - which causes breast cancer in the animals - could replicate in human cells.

Other cancer experts, however, said the results, in the journal Retrovirology, should be treated with caution.

They said there was little evidence to link it to human breast cancer.

Viruses are now known to be involved in the development of several cancers - including cervical and liver cancer.

MMTV was discovered in the 1930s, and has been previously suggested as a possible cause of human breast cancer.

However, even though traces of the virus have been found before in human breast cancer cells, attempts to prove a link have foundered in the past because no-one could find evidence that the virus could survive and replicate in that environment.

The latest research claims to have done this - they say MMTV ‘rapidly spreads’ in breast cancer cells in their laboratory.
Dr Stanislave Indik, who led the team, said: “Often, viruses infect cells but cannot replicate further.
“If they can replicate, the chances that they cause disease may be increased.”

The researchers said that while not proving that the virus can cause breast cancer in real people, it “lends more weight” to theories linking the virus to the disease, and to other conditions such as the liver disease primary biliary cirrhosis.

They said that if the MMTV were to be proven, existing drugs such as the anti-HIV medication AZT would stop it replicating.

Other experts are no so convinced that MMTV is likely to be a culprit for the disease.

Epidemiologist Dr Rob Newton, from the charity Cancer Research UK, said: “This paper suggests that, under controlled laboratory conditions, a mouse virus can infect cultured cells derived from human breast tissue.
“It does not demonstrate that this actually happens in the real world, nor have the researchers shown that such infection leads to the development of cancer.

“At the present time, the overall evidence in this area does not support the view that MMTV is a cause of human breast cancer.”

This was echoed by Dr Sarah Cant, from Breakthrough Breast Cancer, who said: “Although this research indicates the mouse mammary tumour virus can spread between breast cancer cells in the lab, there is still no concrete scientific evidence that the virus causes breast cancer in humans.

“Much more research would be needed before we can say whether or not MMTV can be passed from mice to humans to cause breast cancer.”

Peptides previously isolated from hybrid striped bass may be able to control certain viral diseases in fish and humans, suggests new research published in the journal Virology. ”The peptides were highly inhibitory to channel catfish virus, as well as certain amphibian viruses,” said Ed Noga, a co-investigator and North Carolina Sea Grant researcher. The study was led by Greg Chinchar of the University of Mississippi Medical Center.

Peptides Antibiotics From Fish May Fight Viral Diseases, Sea Grant StudyFinds
Peptides previously isolated from hybrid striped bass may be able to control certain viral diseases in fish and humans, suggests new research published in the journal Virology. ”The peptides were highly inhibitory to channel catfish virus, as well as certain amphibian viruses,” said Ed Noga, a co-investigator and North Carolina Sea Grant researcher. The study was led by Greg Chinchar of the University of Mississippi Medical Center.

The peptide antibiotics or ”piscidins,” a name derived from pisces, the Latin word for fish, originally were isolated from mast cells — found in the immune systems of fish and other vertebrates, including humans. ”The results suggest that piscidins may be an important defense for fish against viral infections, which are among the most serious diseases in aquaculture,” added Noga. ”They also have the potential to fight viral infections in humans, particularly the herpes viruses.” Earlier work by other researchers found that viruses can be sensitive to other types of antimicrobial peptides besides piscidins, according to Noga. With the spread of emerging infectious diseases and the growing problem of antibiotic resistance, the search for effective treatments has taken on greater urgency.

In a previous North Carolina Sea Grant study, researchers found that piscidins possessed potent broad-spectrum antibacterial activity, including the ability to fight fish and human pathogens resistant to other antibiotics. This was the first time that researchers had isolated a peptide antibiotic from mast cells of any animals. ”The next step is to determine the specific role that piscidins play in defending fish against viral infections, as well as finding out if piscidins can effectively treat viral disease in an animal model,” Noga said. The study was funded by North Carolina Sea Grant, the National Science Foundation, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Here is a load of crap, pajamas that is designed to protect against MRSA by incorporating silver into its fabric at a level of 2%.

They claim that by having 2% silver woven into its fabric, it can protect against the hospital super bug MRSA. It has already gone on sale UK with M&S the first British retailer to stock the £45 Sleep Safe pajamas and is trialing them at 100 stores.

Silver is known for its infection-fighting properties and silver-laced nightwear has already been tested in a handful of hospitals.

But campaigners called the pajamas a gimmick and said the only way to tackle MRSA was by making hospitals cleaner.

MRSA

MRSA (methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus) is a bacterium that can live completely harmlessly on the skin of healthy people but can lead to serious infection.

MRSA infections can cause a broad range of symptoms depending on the part of the body that is infected. These may include surgical wounds, burns, catheter sites, eye, skin and blood.

Dr Mark Enright, a microbiologist at Imperial College London, said that the pajamas would reduce the risk of a patient getting a skin infection that enters a wound.

The problem lies within the hospitals. They are dirty and it should not be up to the public to safeguard themselves

Tony Kitchen of MRSA Support

A spokesman for M&S said: “The fabric that the pajamas are made of has been clinically proven to reduce the risk of MRSA by killing bacteria that come into contact with the fabric.

“Clinical trials are currently ongoing and are three quarters of the way through. The interim results were positive.”

They are only available for men at present and are produced using a fabric which 2% silver has woven into it.

Katherine Murphy, from the Patients’ Association, said: “We welcome the fact these are going on sale, but it shows how desperate the public is.”

However, Tony Kitchen of MRSA Support said: “It sounds like a gimmick - it cannot be a super suit and probably doesn’t make a jot of difference.

“The problem lies within the hospitals. They are dirty and it should not be up to the public to safeguard themselves, it’s the ethos of the hospital that needs to change.”

A spokesman added that if the pajamas did prove effective then they ought to be provided by the health service. rather than paid for by the patient.