Mouse virus causing mammary cancer found to infect human cells

international research team at the Viennese Christian-Doppler-Laboratory for Gene Therapeutic Vector Development (University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna) has shown for the first time world-wide that Mouse Mammary Tumor Virus (MMTV), which causes breast cancer in mice, can also infect human cells.

For the complex experiments recombinant MMTV carrying an inserted fluorescence gene were developed. These were able to successfully infect human cells of diverse origin, e.g. breast or cervix tumour derived cells. The viruses multiplied and also infected further cells