SV40 is an abbreviation for Simian vacuolating virus 40 or Simian virus 40, a polyomavirus that is found in both monkeys and humans. Like other polyomaviruses, SV40 is a DNA virus that has the potential to cause tumors, but most often persists as a latent infection. Virus classification involves naming and placing viruses into a taxonomic system. ... A DNA virus is a virus that has DNA as its genetic material and does not use an RNA intermediate during replication. ... Species See text Polyomavirus is the sole genus of viruses within the family Polyomaviridae. ... Species See text Polyomavirus is the sole genus of viruses within the family Polyomaviridae. ... Species See text Polyomavirus is the sole genus of viruses within the family Polyomaviridae. ... For other uses, see Monkey (disambiguation). ... Trinomial name Homo sapiens sapiens Linnaeus, 1758 Humans, or human beings, are bipedal primates belonging to the mammalian species Homo sapiens (Latin: wise man or knowing man) under the family Hominidae (the great apes). ... A DNA virus is a virus belonging to either Group I or Group II of the Baltimore classification system for viruses. ... Tumor or tumour literally means swelling, and is sometimes still used with that meaning. ...

The virus was first identified in 1960 in cultures of rhesus monkey kidney cells that were being used to produce polio vaccine. It was named for the effect it produced on infected green monkey cells, which developed an unusual number of vacuoles. The complete DNA sequence of the virus was sequenced by Walter Fiers and his team at the University of Ghent (Belgium) in 1978^[1]. The virus is dormant and shows no visible effects in Rhesus monkeys. The virus has been found in many macaque populations in the wild, where it rarely causes disease. However, in monkeys that are immunodeficient—due to, for example, infection with Simian immunodeficiency virus—SV40 acts much like the human JC and BK polyomaviruses, producing kidney disease and sometimes a demyelinating disease similar to PML. In other species, particularly hamsters, SV40 causes a variety of tumors, generally sarcomas. In rats, the oncogenic SV40 large T-antigen was used to establish a brain tumor model for PNETs and medulloblastomas. ^[2] 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1960 calendar). ... Binomial name Macaca mulatta Zimmermann, 1780 The Rhesus Macaque (Macaca mulatta), often called the Rhesus Monkey, is one of the best known species of Old World monkeys. ... It has been suggested that Renal anomalies and Renal plasma threshold be merged into this article or section. ... Drawing of the structure of cork as it appeared under the microscope to Robert Hooke from Micrographia which is the origin of the word cell. Cells in culture, stained for keratin (red) and DNA (green). ... Two polio vaccines are used throughout the world to combat polio. ... Species Chlorocebus sabaceus Chlorocebus aethiops Chlorocebus djamdjamensis Chlorocebus tantalus Chlorocebus pygerythrus Chlorocebus cynosuros The vervet monkeys or green monkeys are primates from the family of Old World monkeys. ... Schematic of typical animal cell, showing subcellular components. ... Walter Fiers was born in Ieper (Belgium) in 1931. ... Ghent University (in Dutch, Universiteit Gent, abbreviated UGent) is one of the two large Flemish universities. ... 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday. ... Type Species Simia inuus Linnaeus, 1758 = Simia sylvanus Linnaeus, 1758 Species See text. ... In medicine, immune deficiency (or immunodeficiency) is a state where the immune system is incapable of defending the organism from infectious disease. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... The JC virus (JCV) is a type of human polyomavirus (formerly known as papovavirus) and is genetically similar to BK virus and SV40. ... BK virus is a member of the polyomavirus family. ... A demyelinating disease is any disease of the nervous system in which the myelin sheath of neurons is damaged. ... Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML), also known as progressive multifocal leukoencephalitis, is a rare and usually fatal viral disease that is characterized by progressive damage (-pathy) or inflammation (-itis) of the white matter (leuko-) of the brain (-encephalo-) at multiple locations (multifocal). ... Genera Mesocricetus Phodopus Cricetus Cricetulus Allocricetulus Cansumys Tscherskia A hamster is a rodent belonging to the subfamily Cricetinae. ... A sarcoma is a cancer of the connective or supportive tissue (bone, cartilage, fat, muscle, blood vessels) and soft tissue. ... The following subjects use the acronym PNET: Peaceful Nuclear Explosions Treaty Primitive Neuroectodermal Tumor Category: ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into brain tumor. ...

The molecular mechanisms by which the virus reproduces and alters cell function were previously unknown, and research into SV40 vastly increased biologists' understanding of gene expression and the regulation of cell growth. Gene expression, or simply expression, is the process by which a genes DNA sequence is converted into the structures and functions of a cell. ...

SV40 has not been proven to cause disease in humans, but several studies have suggested a link to cancer based on the presence of relatively large amounts of what may be SV40 DNA fragments in some tumor tissues, particularly mesotheliomas and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. There is as yet no consensus on the meaning of these findings. Non-Hodgkins lymphoma is a type of cancer. ...

p53 Damage

SV40 is believed to suppress the transcriptional properties of the tumor-suppressing p53 in humans. p53 is responsible for initiating cell death [apoptosis], or cell cycle arrest when a cell is damaged. A mutated p53 gene may contribute to uncontrolled cellular proliferation, leading to a tumor. Tumor or tumour literally means swelling, and is sometimes still used with that meaning. ...

Polio vaccine contamination

Soon after its discovery, SV40 was identified in the injected form of the polio vaccine produced between 1955 and 1961. This is believed to be due to kidney cells from infected monkeys being used to amplify the vaccine virus during production. Both the Sabin vaccine (oral, live virus) and the Salk vaccine (injectable, killed virus) were affected; the technique used to inactivate the polio virus in the Salk vaccine, by means of formaldehyde, did not reliably kill SV40. Poliomyelitis (polio), or infantile paralysis, is a viral paralytic disease. ... A vaccine is an antigenic preparation used to establish immunity to a disease. ... 1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1961 calendar). ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Jonas Edward Salk (October 28, 1914 – June 23, 1995) was an American physician and researcher, best known for the development of the first polio vaccine (the eponymous Salk vaccine). ... The chemical compound formaldehyde (also known as methanal) is a gas with a pungent smell. ...

It was difficult to detect small quantities of virus until the advent of PCR testing; since then, stored samples of vaccine made after 1962 have tested negative for SV40, but no samples prior to 1962 could be found. Thus, although over 10 million people received the potentially contaminated batches of vaccine, there is no way to know whether they were exposed to the virus, and if so, whether it was in a quantity and by a route that would cause infection. It is also unknown how widespread the virus was among humans before the 1950s, though one study found that 12% of a sample of German medical students in 1952 had SV40 antibodies. It is not known whether the virus can be transmitted between humans. Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar). ... // Recovering from World War II and its aftermath, the economic miracle emerged in West Germany and Italy. ... 1952 (MCMLII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ...

An analysis presented at the Vaccine Cell Substrate Conference in 2004 [1] suggested that vaccines used in the former Soviet bloc countries, China, Japan, and Africa, could have been contaminated up to 1980, meaning that hundreds of millions more could have been exposed to the virus. During the Cold War, the Eastern Bloc (or Soviet Bloc) comprised the following Central and Eastern European countries: Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, East Germany, Poland, Albania (until the early 1960s, see below), the Soviet Union, and Czechoslovakia. ...

Treatment in the popular press

Claims have been made detailing the controversy surrounding SV40 research. One book by a pair of investigative journalists contains statements indicating that researchers were penalized for reporting the findings of a potential cause and effect relationship between the early polio vaccine, SV40 and cancer. The book further alleges falsification of research due to financial conflicts of interest. [2]

An additional book written by the creator of the "Natural Cures" infomercial alleges a coverup of harm caused to the public. Infomercials are television commercials that run as long as a typical television program (roughly thirty minutes or an hour). ...

Latest research references

• Kroczynska B, Cutrone R, Bocchetta M, Yang H, Elmishad A, Vacek P, Ramos-Nino M, Mossman B, Pass H, Carbone M (2006). "Crocidolite asbestos and SV40 are cocarcinogens in human mesothelial cells and in causing mesothelioma in hamsters". Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 103 (38): 14128-33. PMID 16966607. 

• Pershouse M, Heivly S, Girtsman T (2006). "The role of SV40 in malignant mesothelioma and other human malignancies". Inhal Toxicol 18 (12): 995-1000. PMID 16920674. 

References

1. ^ Fiers W et al., Complete nucleotide-sequence of SV40 DNA, Nature, 273, 113-120, 1978
2. ^ Eibl RH, Kleihues P, Jat PS, Wiestler OD (1994) A model for primitive neuroectodermal tumors in transgenic neural transplants harboring the SV40 large T antigen. Am J Pathol. 1994 Mar;144(3):556-64

External links

• CDC.gov - 'Simian Virus 40 (SV40), Polio Vaccine, and Cancer Q&A' (fact sheet), US Center for Disease Control
• FDA.gov - 'Simian Virus 40: A Possible Human Polyomavirus Workshop' (transcript of 1997 NIH conference on SV40 in humans, part 1), National Institutes of Health (NIH)

• FDA.gov - 'Simian Virus 40: A Possible Human Polyomavirus Workshop' (part 2), (NIH)
• FDA.gov - 'Simian Virus 40: A Possible Human Polyomavirus Workshop' (part 3), (NIH)

• SV40Foundation.org - 'SV40 stands for Simian Virus 40', SV40 Foundation
• TheVirusAndTheVaccine.com - ' The Virus and the Vaccine: the true story of a cancer-causing monkey virus, contaminated polio vaccine, and the millions of Americans exposed', Debbie Bookchin, Jim Schumaker (2004), ISBN 0-312-27872-1
• MeSH Simian+virus+40