Exposure to Mycovirus-Containing Aspergillus flavus Alters Transcription Factors in Normal and Leukemia Cell Lines

first_page Download PDF settings Order Article Reprints Font Type: Arial Georgia Verdana Font Size: Aa Aa Aa Line Spacing:    Column Width:    Background: Open AccessAbstract Exposure to Mycovirus-Containing Aspergillus flavus Alters Transcription Factors in Normal and Leukemia Cell Lines † by Cameron K. TebbiCameron K. Tebbi SciProfiles Scilit Preprints.org Google Scholar 1,*, Eva SahakianEva Sahakian SciProfiles Scilit Preprints.org Google Scholar 2, Jiyu YanJiyu Yan SciProfiles Scilit Preprints.org Google Scholar 1, Saumil PatelSaumil Patel SciProfiles Scilit Preprints.org Google Scholar 3 and Melanie Mediavilla-VarelaMelanie Mediavilla-Varela SciProfiles Scilit Preprints.org Google Scholar 2 1 Children's Cancer Research Group Laboratory, Tampa, FL 33613, USA 2 Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, FL 33612, USA 3 Tampa General Hospital, Tampa, FL 33606, USA * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. † Presented at the 4th International Electronic Conference on Cancers, 6–8 March 2024; Available online: https://sciforum.net/event/IECC2024. Proceedings 2024, 100(1), 19; https://doi.org/10.3390/proceedings2024100019 Published: 27 March 2024 Download keyboard_arrow_down Download PDF Download PDF with Cover Download XML Download Epub Download Supplementary Material Versions Notes Keywords: etiology; cancer; leukemia; leukemogenesis; carcinogenesis; mycovirus; fungi; aspergillus; virus Transcription factors bind specific DNA motifs to regulate the expression of target genes in order to maintain normal hematopoiesis. The dysregulation of these factors can lead to hemopoietic disorders, including leukemias. Mutations, translocations, or the aberrant expression of several transcription factors in various leukemias have been well documented. Mycoviruses are known to alter the genetics of their fungal host and transform their biological characteristics. We have evaluated the effects of the products of a certain mycovirus-containing Aspergillus flavus (MCAF), which we have isolated from the home of a patient with leukemia, on the transcription factors of acute lymphoblastic (ALL), acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) cell lines, and controls. This organism does not produce any aflatoxin. Our previously published studies have shown that patients with B-cell ALL, unlike controls, have antibodies to MCAF, and the exposure of the mononuclear leukocytes from ALL patients in complete remission to its products results in the re-development of genetic and cell-surface markers characteristic of ALL. In additional investigations, ALL and AML cell lines and controls were exposed to incremental doses of the supernatant of the culture of MCAF. Prior to and after exposure, the levels of PAX-5 and Ikaros (75 and 55 kDa) in ALL cell lines, and AML-1,c/EBP-a and PU.1 in AML cell lines, as well as NF-κB(p65) transcription factors in both cell lines, were assessed. Cellular viability was also evaluated. The exposure of the 'normal' cell line to the MCAF resulted in apoptosis, and the downregulation of all tested transcription factors, with no detectable levels remaining. In leukemia cell lines, exposure to MCAF also caused cell death; however, while there was a downregulation of all tested transcription factors, some residual levels were retained. The genetic alterations caused by MCAF are novel findings and of significance. Further studies on the possible role of mycovirus-containing Aspergillus flavus in leukemogenesis are warranted. Supplementary MaterialsThe presentation materials can be downloaded at: https://www.mdpi.com/article/10.3390/proceedings2024100019/s1. Author ContributionsC.K.T. has authored the abstract. J.Y. has performed technical works. E.S., S.P. and M.M.-V. have contributed to planning and review of the experiment. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.FundingThis research received no external funding.Institutional Review Board StatementNot applicable.Informed Consent StatementNot applicable.Data Availability StatementNo new data were created.Conflicts of InterestThe authors declare no conflict of interest.Disclaimer/Publisher's Note: The statements, opinions and data contained in all publications are solely those of the individual author(s) and contributor(s) and not of MDPI and/or the editor(s). MDPI and/or the editor(s) disclaim responsibility for any injury to people or property resulting from any ideas, methods, instructions or products referred to in the content. © 2024 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Share and Cite MDPI and ACS Style Tebbi, C.K.; Sahakian, E.; Yan, J.; Patel, S.; Mediavilla-Varela, M. Exposure to Mycovirus-Containing Aspergillus flavus Alters Transcription Factors in Normal and Leukemia Cell Lines. Proceedings 2024, 100, 19. https://doi.org/10.3390/proceedings2024100019 AMA Style Tebbi CK, Sahakian E, Yan J, Patel S, Mediavilla-Varela M. Exposure to Mycovirus-Containing Aspergillus flavus Alters Transcription Factors in Normal and Leukemia Cell Lines. Proceedings. 2024; 100(1):19. https://doi.org/10.3390/proceedings2024100019 Chicago/Turabian Style Tebbi, Cameron K., Eva Sahakian, Jiyu Yan, Saumil Patel, and Melanie Mediavilla-Varela. 2024. "Exposure to Mycovirus-Containing Aspergillus flavus Alters Transcription Factors in Normal and Leukemia Cell Lines" Proceedings 100, no. 1: 19. https://doi.org/10.3390/proceedings2024100019 Article Metrics No No Article Access Statistics Multiple requests from the same IP address are counted as one view.