Polyomavirus-induced APOBEC3 mutagenesis in bladder cancer initiation

Carcinogenesis in human urothelium, which lines the urinary bladder and ureters, is associated with a high burden of mutations caused by APOBEC3A and APOBEC3B. Although human APOBEC3 enzymes evolved to protect against viruses, there is no established viral aetiology for bladder cancer. In this study we have continued our exploration of BK polyomavirus as the initiating viral trigger for bladder cancer. We have used RNAseq and high fidelity Nanorate sequencing to explore the propensity of BKPyV to induce APOBEC enzymes creating the mutational patterns we observe in bladder cancer.