# Viruses and the host replisome: discovering oncogenic mechanisms of small DNA tumor viruses

**Authors:** Christopher D. Collins, Matthew Stefely, Kavi Prem Milan Mehta, Megan E. Spurgeon

PMC · DOI: 10.1128/jvi.01691-25 · Journal of Virology · 2026-01-07

## TL;DR

This paper explores how DNA tumor viruses like HPV and MCPyV cause cancer by disrupting the host's DNA replication machinery.

## Contribution

The paper introduces how new technologies like iPOND can reveal how viral oncoproteins affect the host replisome.

## Key findings

- HPV and MCPyV oncoproteins may cause genomic instability by altering the host replisome.
- Technologies like iPOND can help uncover how these viruses dysregulate DNA replication proteins.

## Abstract

Human papillomavirus (HPV) and Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCPyV) are DNA tumor viruses that cause human cancer. The mechanisms by which HPV and MCPyV oncoproteins induce genomic instability are not well defined. This minireview discusses the influence of these oncoproteins on the repertoire of proteins at replicating DNA, known as the host replisome, and discusses how new technologies like isolation of proteins on nascent DNA (iPOND) can drive the discovery of viral dysregulation of the host replisome to enhance our understanding of viral oncogenesis.

## Linked entities

- **Diseases:** cancer (MONDO:0004992)
- **Species:** Human papillomavirus (taxon 10566), Merkel cell polyomavirus (taxon 493803)

## Full-text entities

- **Diseases:** DNA tumor (MESH:D009369)
- **Species:** Homo sapiens (human, species) [taxon 9606], Merkel cell polyomavirus (no rank) [taxon 493803], Human papillomavirus (species) [taxon 10566]

## Full text

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## Figures

2 figures with captions in the complete paper: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12911864/full.md

## References

130 references — full list in the complete paper: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12911864/full.md

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Source: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12911864