Gender	Female
E-mail	beatriz.pogo@mssm.edu
Education and Training	DMSc, Buenos Aires University School of Medicine
	MD, Buenos Aires University School of Medicine
	Fellowship, Sloan Kettering Institute Cancer Center
	Fellowship, Rockefeller University
Awards	Member National Academy of Medicine, Argentina
	Fellow New York Academy of Sciences
	Membership Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society
	Outstanding Women in Science Award AWIS Metropolitan N.Y.
	Damon Runyon Fund Fellowship
	Research Career Award National Research Council of Argentina

Specialty: Viral Oncology

Education and Training	DMSc, Buenos Aires University School of Medicine
	MD, Buenos Aires University School of Medicine
	Fellowship, Sloan Kettering Institute Cancer Center
	Fellowship, Rockefeller University

The main research of this laboratory concerns molecular mechanisms of viral pathogenesis.
Fifteen percent of human cancers are associated with or caused by viruses. We are investigating if a virus similar to the mouse mammary tumor virus (MMTV) is involved in human breast cancer pathogenesis. We have found viral sequences similar to MMTV in 38% of the human breast cancers tested. They were expressed as RNA and proteins. A complete proviral structure has been detected with the characteristics of a replicative competent virus.

Recently, we isolated and characterized a beta retrovirus from primary cultures of human breast cancer cells. The retrovirus is able to infect epithelial and lymphocytic human cells. Its potential for malignant transformation is being investigated. Epidemiological studies on breast cancer and retroviral incidence are also carried out by analyzing samples from different geographical locations. The transcriptional profile of breast cancer cells carrying the virus was also investigated. Together, these studies will help to determine if a retrovirus is involved in human breast cancer pathogenesis.

Pogo BG T, Melana SM, Holland J, Mandeli JF, Piloti S, Casalini P, Menard S. Sequences homologous to the MMTV env gene in human breast carcinoma correlate with overexpression of laminin receptor. Clin Cancer Res 1999; 5(8): 2108-11.

Liu B, Wang Y, Melana SM, Pelisson I, Najfeld V, Holland JF, Pogo BG. Identification of a proviral structure in human breast cancer. Cancer Res 2001 Feb; 61(4): 1754-9.

Melana SM, Holland JF, Pogo BG. Search for mouse mammary tumor virus-like env sequences in cancer and normal breast from the same individuals. Clin Cancer Res 2001; 7: 283-284.

Wang Y, Jiang JD, Xu D, Qu C, Holland JF, Pogo BG. A mouse mammary tumor virus-like long terminal repeat superantigen in human breast cancer. Cancer Res 2004 Jun; 64(12): 4105-11.

Levine PH, Pogo BG, Klouj A, Coronel S, Woodson K, Melana SM, Mourali N, Holland JF. Increasing evidence for a human breast carcinoma virus with geographic differences. Cancer 2004 Aug; 101(4): 721-6.

Holland JF, Pogo BG. Mouse mammary tumor virus-like viral infection and human breast cancer. Clin Cancer Res 2004 Sep; 10(17): 5647-9.

Fernandez-Cobo M, Melana SM, Holland JF, Pogo BG. Transcription profile of a human breast cancer cell line expressing MMTV-like sequences. Infect Agent Cancer 2006 Dec; 1: 7.

Fernandez-Cobo M, Holland JF, Pogo BG. Transcription profiles of non-immortalized breast cancer cell lines. BMC Cancer 2006 Apr; 6: 99.

Melana SM, Nepomnaschy I, Sakalian M, Abbott A, Hasa J, Holland JF, Pogo BT. Characterization of viral particles isolated from primary cultures of human breast cancer cells. Cancer Research 2007; 67: 8960-8965.