Cycline-A et Cancer

Abstract

Cyclin A is a multifunctional protein. It associates to p34cdk2 kinase and is thus involved in the G2/M the E2F transcription factor, the p33cdc2 kinase, and the Rb(p107) homologue. The modified expression of cyclin A in a human liver cancer, due to the insertion of hepatitis B viral DNA within the cyclin A gene, as well as the binding of cyclin A to the oncogenic E1A viral protein in adenovirus infected cells, might have relevant implications in human carcinogenesis. Cyclin A provides a link between studies directed to the cell cycle machinery and those aiming at elucidating the modulation of cell proliferation and the regulation of gene expression by oncogenes and growth suppressor proteins. In addition, cyclin A might also be considered as a marker for tumor cells proliferation in oncology. In this perspective it will now be of importance to extend these observations to different types of cancer.