3 Investment Themes - Global Warming, Renewables And The ...

This is the fifth article in a series of articles covering and summarizing different investment themes/thesis. These themes are usually very powerful and answer for the moves of stocks, entire sectors or even the entire market. The relevance of themes for specific stocks, sectors and even the entire market is explained in the first article in the series (linked below).

The previous articles on this series (by the order they were published) can be found here:

Themes 13-15

This article will be the fifth in a series of articles summarizing themes which are moving specific sectors or markets today. Knowing these themes can help when selecting securities. I'll continue with the following three themes:

• Global warming;
• The renewables revolution;
• The education bubble.

Global warming

Theme

Global warming refers to the view that the recent trend up in temperatures is anthropogenic in nature. That is, it's man-made. This view states that man's emission of certain gases, namely CO2 (carbon dioxide), leads to a greenhouse effect. The end result is significant climate change, increased temperatures and increased sea levels.

While there is still ongoing scientific debate and considerable uncertainty about global warming, the fact is that political decisions are increasingly being informed by it. This can have significant - and much faster - impact than global warming itself. The implications I will talk about concern the consequences of the probable political decisions, not the possible impacts from global warming.

Positive implications

The notion that there can be global warming and that mitigating political actions are needed to combat it is positive for the industries promising lower CO2 emissions. These include industries providing renewable energy, electric vehicles and even lower-emission fossil fuels like natural gas.

An example of the impact of these political measures can be in the zero emission credits which allowed Tesla (TSLA) to show a profit in Q1 2013. Wind energy also usually gets significant tax breaks in many jurisdictions.

Negative implications

The negative effects from the policies trying to mitigate global warming fall mostly upon the companies tied to larger CO2 emissions. This includes the entire coal industry (KOL) as well as coal producers like James River Coal (JRCC), Arch Coal (ACI), Alpha Natural Resources (ANR) and others.

Coal becomes much less competitive when CO2 emissions have to be limited or sequestered. Carbon credits make coal-fired generators become economically less viable. And to add insult to injury, the greater emphasis on renewable energy means greater variability of the energy supply, which also favors natural gas-fired generators over coal-fired generators.

If electric vehicles become much more prevalent, this could also have a negative impact for auto-parts companies - especially those selling powertrain components. Over time, petrochemical companies could also be affected but that's too far in the future right now.

The renewables revolution

Theme

The renewables revolution is tied to global warming, to peak oil, and to a sense that humanity needs to become reliant on energy sources that are renewable and sustainable. This has led to significant investment and promotion of such technologies as wind energy, solar energy, ethanol, etc. Not all are really that appealing economically or energetically presently, but the investment and advancement has been and continues to be significant.

Positive implications

I'd emphasize as most positive the consequences for those companies providing renewable energy or services to producers of such energy where the producers are economically viable or near so without state support. This is something which is close to happening to wind energy producers and might happen in the future even in solar power.

Another interesting effect from renewable energy is that sometimes it's much more variable than conventional generation capacity. Take for instance wind energy, or solar power. It fluctuates, and is not very predictable either. This has at least two large implications:

• One is that it requires a smarter grid, able to handle the variable loads without compromising reliability;
• The other is that it greatly promotes the development of energy storage capabilities, both to smooth out the variations, and to take advantage of the cyclicality in the power price - which presently can even reach out into negative pricing. Here, a sector which might end up being favored are the purveyors of fuel cells, commonly used for localized backup power. Fuel cells can be made to both store and deliver power and have significant energy densities, so they can fulfill this task readily. Examples of fuel cell producers getting into the energy storage business include Hydrogenics Corporation (HYGS), Ballard Power Systems (BLDP) and FuelCell Energy (FCEL).

Negative implications

On the negative side, as with global warming and the shale revolution, we find coal. Coal loses from increased alternative generation capacity, especially if favored with "must run" provisions as it might happen to some renewable energy. It also loses from increased variability in load on the grid as it's slower to ramp up. And it also loses if mandates to sequester carbon or carbon credits are created.

Another possible, more diffuse, negative implication has to do with increased power prices resulting from renewable energy mandates. These tend to negatively affect any large power user, and could hit users such as aluminum producers like Alcoa (AA). However, at the same time Alcoa is favored by the shale revolution keeping power prices lower than they would otherwise be.

The education bubble

Theme

The education bubble comes from two different effects:

• One is the realization that income and employment is proportional to education. A degree thus became a "must-have" in the eyes of the people, both for the younger generation and even for older folk;
• The other is that through state support and guarantees, it became easy to get an education. This thus makes the education bubble part of the welfare bubble in general.

The charts below illustrate these two points (Source: [1], [2]):

Positive implications

The main beneficiaries of this bubble are the private purveyors of education, including Bridgepoint Education (BPI), Corinthian Colleges (COCO), Apollo Group (APOL), Strayer Education (STRA) and others. However, since this is an unsustainable bubble, these beneficiaries are likely to be hit when the bubble unwinds.

There are two variables which can pop this bubble:

• The fact that debt is expanding faster than income, so it will be intrinsically unsustainable at some point;
• And the fact that defaults are already running high and going higher, with the likely consequence of government action to contain them. Regulatory reactions have already happened and are bound to become more and more aggressive, eventually crippling private education in the process.

Negative implications

In this case the negative implications are similar to the positive implications because of what I've said. It's a bubble, as it grows it favors the actors in the space, but when it blows up it affects mostly those same actors.

In a way part of this is already discounted in the very low valuations of many of the actors in the space. For instance, BPI trades at an EV/EBITDA of just 1.3 times. And it runs a massive online business. Were BPI not embroiled in this bubble and facing accreditation troubles and it would easily trade at multiples its present value.

Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article. (More...)

Source: http://seekingalpha.com/article/1492632-3-investment-themes-global-warming-renewables-and-the-education-bubble?source=feed

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Transplant vote seeks medical and legal balance

PITTSBURGH (AP) ? Faced with a federal judge's order in the heart-wrenching cases of two terminally ill children who are seeking lung transplants, a national review board sought a balance that will keep such decisions in the hands of doctors, not lawyers or judges.

The executive committee of the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network held an emergency teleconference Monday evening and resisted making rule changes for children under 12 seeking lung transplants, but created a special appeal and review system to hear such cases.

Dr. Arthur Caplan, a bioethicist at New York University's Langone Medical Center, said the vote showed that the medical profession doesn't believe that they should be pressured into making hasty changes to the entire national transplant system based on a single case.

The meeting was prompted by the cases of 10-year-old Sarah Murnaghan of Newtown Square, Pa., and 11-year-old Javier Acosta of New York City, two terminally ill children who are awaiting transplants at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Last week, federal Judge Michael Baylson ruled that they should be eligible for adult lungs after U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius declined to intervene in such cases. Both children have end-stage cystic fibrosis, and Javier's brother died two years ago while on the waiting list.

Their families have challenged existing transplant policy that made children under 12 wait for pediatric lungs to become available or be offered lungs donated by adults after adolescents and adults on the waiting list had been considered. They say pediatric lungs are rarely donated.

Caplan said the network is trying to acknowledge the concerns Baylson raised but also issue a warning.

"I think what they're trying to tell the judge is 'We have a system. It's working. Let us decide, not you," Caplan said.

He said the judge's ruling "did hit a moral nerve" because the network recognizes the need to examine the claim that the 12-year-old distinction for lung transplants is arbitrary, but OPTN also tried to "preserve the integrity of the system by not changing the rule" based on court intervention.

The Murnaghans' said in a statement that they consider the creation of the appeals process "a tremendous win for Sarah" and all other children waiting for lungs, but they added that the biggest issue is finding enough donors to help people who need transplants. "We hope Sarah's story moves people to become organ donors," they added.

The Murnaghans' attorney, Steve Harvey, said the vote creates "a little appeals process" and that Sarah's case may go back before the new OPTN review board. But he added that they plan to ask Sebelius to keep Sarah eligible for adult lungs, as the judge instructed, until such a review is over.

The family has said that Sarah may only have a few weeks to live and that no suitable lungs have been found so far for her, even with the emergency exemption.

OPTN committee member Alexandra Glazier said during the call that while she can't comment on specific transplant cases, lawsuits are "not an appropriate approach" to managing organ donation. Glazier said that while an order by any judge might be well-intentioned, it would "inevitably fail" to take into account the many complex medical and ethical issues that go into crafting broad national rules. Glazier is with the New England Organ Bank.

Glazier also said that letting the courts decide such issues would set a terrible precedent.

"If some candidates perceive judicial intervention as a way to gain more favorable access to transplant, the result is likely to be significant chaos and inherent unfairness because access to the courts is not equal," Glazier said, adding that "public trust and procedural fairness demands that organ allocation policies be made in an open public process and not by urgently convened committees."

While members of the OPTN executive committee voiced sympathy for anyone who is waiting for a transplant, they noted that making any sudden change to the system to help one group risks harming some other group. The existing system was created after years of reviews by numerous medical professionals and members of the public.

OPTN also said that the new special review option will expire on July 1, 2014, unless the full board of directors votes to keep it in place. The group said in a statement after the teleconference that currently there are 1,659 candidates nationwide waiting for a lung transplant, of which 30 are age 10 or younger. The group said it was not immediately clear how many children may consider the option of a review under the new appeals process.

The network said that since 2007, only one lung transplant in the United States has occurred from a donor older than age 18 into a recipient younger than 12.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/bbd825583c8542898e6fa7d440b9febc/Article_2013-06-11-US-Transplant-Rules/id-a286d963ef794523a9ff91ef41b1d492

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iCloud Finally Looks Like It's Useful (Updating)

While all the hullabaloo at WWDC is focused on what iOS and OSX look like, we should be more concerned with whether or not they actually work. The late Steve Jobs did say over a decade ago that Apple focuses on not just the aesthetics of its products but also how they actually work: "It's not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works." So you've got to wonder if Apple has finally fixed iCloud.

Read more...

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/gVJVqyzZF3U/icloud-finally-looks-like-its-useful-updating-512271540

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Jury selection begins in George Zimmerman trial

George Zimmerman, accused in the Trayvon Martin shooting, in Seminole Circuit Court during his pretrial hearing??

Lawyers on both sides of the George Zimmerman trial Monday began what is expected to be a weekslong process of selecting a 12-member jury in the incendiary case in Sanford, Florida.

As potential jurors filled out questionnaires, Judge Debra Nelson denied a request from Zimmerman's attorneys to delay the start of the trial for several weeks on grounds they needed more time to prepare.

His attorneys declined to ask for a change of venue in the case, suggesting they are confident they can find impartial jurors in the area despite the wall-to-wall media coverage that 17-year-old Trayvon Martin's killing attracted last year.

But his brother, Robert Zimmerman, didn't sound convinced. "We're obviously concerned about that," he told reporters Monday when asked if he believed George Zimmerman could get a fair trial.

Zimmerman, out on $1 million bond and in hiding for much of the past year, is charged with second-degree murder for killing the unarmed teen in a confrontation in his gated community, where Zimmerman acted as a volunteer watchman.

Prosecutors argue that Zimmerman racially profiled, followed and then shot Martin. Zimmerman's lawyers counter that their client was attacked by Martin and that he acted in self-defense.

Defense lawyer Jose Baez, who represented Casey Anthony in her high-profile trial in Orlando in 2011, said jury selection in this trial will be especially complicated because of the case's racial overtones. (Zimmerman identifies himself as Hispanic; Martin was black.)

Martin's family hinted at the potential complications in a statement released Monday morning.

"Trayvon's life was taken unnecessarily and tragically, but we call upon the community to be peaceful. We have placed our faith in the justice system and ask that the community do the same," the family wrote.

Generally, defense lawyers would be more likely than prosecutors to want to select minorities for a jury, since, on average, African-American and Hispanic people express more skepticism of law enforcement than white people, according to Baez. But in this case, Zimmerman's defense lawyers will want to pack the jury with white "gun-toting Republicans" who would be amenable to their argument that their client shot and killed the unarmed Martin in self-defense, Baez said.

These jurors might also be more convinced by the argument that local police made the right decision not to arrest or charge Zimmerman in the shooting initially.

"It's a very unique case in that respect, where the general rules that a lot of lawyers use are just going be absolutely flipped upside down," Baez said. "Because it is such a racially charged case, I think that the clear line is going to be drawn here between African-American jurors and Caucasian and Hispanic jurors."

But the defense team will have to be very careful in its quest to find conservative jurors more amenable to the self-defense argument. Circuit Judge Debra Nelson, who is presiding over the televised trial in the Seminole County Courthouse, will most likely be vigilant to make sure neither side is excluding jurors based on their race, which is illegal under a 1985 Supreme Court decision.

"I think this judge is fully aware of the racial tensions involved and is going to be on high alert," Baez said. If the defense team moves to dismiss an African-American juror during the peremptory strike phase of jury selection, for example, the judge could challenge it to provide a reason for the move. If the team can't come up with a good reason (for example, that the juror attended a rally in support of Trayvon Martin), the judge will assume the attorneys wanted to dismiss the juror for racial reasons and override their preference.

Nelson has ruled that the pool of 500 potential jurors will be kept anonymous during the selection process. It's possible she could order them sequestered during the trial, which is what happened to the jurors in the Anthony case. Nelson rejected the defense's request to sequester them during jury selection.

The pool will shrink rapidly as jurors can make the case that sitting on a jury for weeks would be a hardship. After that process winnows down the lot, the attorneys will go through and disqualify anyone with a personal connection to the case. Both sides will be on the lookout for jurors who have stated their support for either Zimmerman or Martin on social media sites, or been involved in activism around the case. The attorneys may also have potential jurors fill out questionnaires gauging their beliefs about gun control, law enforcement, race and other issues.

Yahoo's Jason Sickles contributed reporting.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/jury-selection-begins-george-zimmerman-trial-121304344.html

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Sharapova reaches 4th round at French Open

Spain's Rafael Nadal checks the mark of a ball on the court in his third round match against Italy's Fabio Fognini at the French Open tennis tournament, at Roland Garros stadium in Paris, Saturday, June 1, 2013. (AP Photo/Michel Spingler)

Spain's Rafael Nadal checks the mark of a ball on the court in his third round match against Italy's Fabio Fognini at the French Open tennis tournament, at Roland Garros stadium in Paris, Saturday, June 1, 2013. (AP Photo/Michel Spingler)

Defending champion Spain's Rafael Nadal returns the ball to Italy's Fabio Fognini during their third round match of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium Saturday, June 1, 2013 in Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

Spain's Rafael Nadal returns against Italy's Fabio Fognini in their third round match at the French Open tennis tournament, at Roland Garros stadium in Paris, Saturday, June 1, 2013. (AP Photo/Michel Spingler)

Russia's Maria Sharapova waves to the public after defeating China's Jie Zheng during their third round match of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium Saturday, June 1, 2013 in Paris. (AP Photo/Michel Spingler)

Russia's Maria Sharapova reacts shortly before defeating China's Jie Zheng during their third round match of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium Saturday, June 1, 2013 in Paris. Sharapova won 6-1, 7-5. (AP Photo/Michel Spingler)

PARIS (AP) ? A frowning Maria Sharapova walked toward the net, peering at a mark on the other side and trying to argue her way out of yet another double-fault.

"It hit the outside line," she told the chair umpire.

He disagreed ? incorrectly ? but Sharapova wasn't fazed for long. She overcame eight double-faults, the erroneous ruling and a second-set deficit to beat Zheng Jie 6-1, 7-5 in the third round Saturday at the French Open.

"I'm happy with the way I fought back and I found a way to win," said Sharapova, who completed a career Grand Slam by winning the Roland Garros title last year.

Seven-time champion Rafael Nadal had to come from behind yet again and reached the fourth round by beating Fabio Fognini 7-6 (5), 6-4, 6-4. After dropping the opening set in his first two matches, Nadal trailed 4-2 and was down a break at 6-5 before surging ahead for his 18th consecutive victory.

Nadal seeks to become first man to win eight titles at the same Grand Slam event. He next plays No. 13-seeded Kei Nishikori, who became the first Japanese man in 75 years to reach the fourth round at Roland Garros, beating Benoit Paire 6-3, 6-7 (3), 6-4, 6-1.

Sharapova will next play Sloane Stephens of the United States, who reached the fourth round for the second consecutive year by beating Marina Erakovic 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-3.

Stephens was joined by two unseeded Americans reaching the round of 16 at Roland Garros for the first time. Julie Hampton defeated No. 7-seeded Petra Kvitova 6-1, 7-6 (7), and Bethanie Mattek-Sands beat qualifier Paula Ormaechea 4-6, 6-1, 6-3.

Like Sharapova, Australian Open champ Victoria Azarenka struggled with her serve, but she rallied past Frenchwoman Alize Cornet 4-6, 6-3, 6-1.

Seeded third, Azarenka hit 10 double-faults and was broken six times. She managed a smile later when asked about her serve.

"I think I left it home today," she said. "If I can win with serving like this, that's pretty remarkable."

She next plays unseeded Francesca Schiavone, the 2010 champion, who beat No. 13 Marion Bartoli of France 6-2, 6-1.

Sharapova found herself trailing 4-1 in the second set after the incorrect call. Facing a break point at 30-40, she hit a second serve that was ruled out.

The umpire climbed off his chair to check the mark and confirmed the call. Sharapova briefly argued in vain, contending the umpire looked at the wrong mark.

A TV replay showed her serve had indeed hit the line. The French Open is the only major tournament that doesn't use a video replay system, and Sharapova said that should change.

"It's not even about the fact of the call, whether it was in or out," she said. "The umpire did not recognize that the mark he pointed out was about a foot away from the actual mark."

Sharapova shook off the setback, sweeping the next three games to reach 4-all, and broke in the final game.

While she repeatedly struggled to hold, Zheng had trouble with her serve, too, landing one short of the net. She was broken in her final five service games.

Sharapova feasted in particular on Zheng's weak second serve and went 8 for 8 on break-point chances. The Russian improved to 33-4 this year, including 14-1 on clay, and owns the best winning percentage on clay (.821) among active players.

Over on court 1, the No. 17-seeded Stephens won the last three games against Erakovic, who was penalized a point in the third set for getting coached.

A year ago, Stephens became the first U.S. teenager to reach the fourth round at Roland Garros since Serena Williams in 2001. She followed that up by reaching her first Grand Slam semifinal at the Australian Open this January, beating Williams to get there.

"This is my favorite tournament," said Stephens, now 20, "so I would really, really, really love to win this tournament."

The center court stands were half-empty on a cloudy, mild day for Azarenka's match. Crowds will likely be bigger for her next week, and so will the stakes.

"Center court is something that motivates me every time I walk on court," she told the crowd after her victory, "and I can't wait to be back here."

She blew an easy overhead to lose the first game of her final set, then swept the last six games thanks to relentless baseline play that wore Cornet down.

"She's a machine, a juggernaut," Cornet said.

Azarenka said she altered her approach in the second set and became more aggressive.

"I really took my chances moving forward," she said. "That's what was bringing me the points and the victory in the end."

Azarenka has won the Australian Open each of the past two years. Roland Garros is the only major tournament where she has yet to reach the semifinals.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-06-01-TEN-French-Open/id-93bca2a9637548fe8bb632de0f84f48d

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Pivos XIOS DS Media Player PTGMCXDALU - Benchmark Reviews

Page 1 of 4

NOTICE: This article was originally written on 10 March 2013, and subsequently halted due to concerns with the product. It has been more than sixty days since the manufacturer was notified, however a firmware update has not been released that corrects or concerns. We have decided to publish our completed work, and will update this review if necessary.

Manufacturer: Pivos Technology Group, Inc.
Product Name: XIOS DS Media Play!
Model Number: PTGMCXDALU-US (M3 Version)
UPC: 855710003021
Price As Tested: $109.99 (Amazon|Newegg)

Full Disclosure: The product sample used in this article has been provided by Pivos.

Streaming and digital products are quickly replacing their physical counterparts, allowing personal entertainment to reach a new level of convenience. Music, photos, movies... they're all just a small part of the multimedia library that we collect and save to disk. Most of us have been downloading files onto our computer for as long as we've had Internet access, and any CD/DVD discs we purchase are promptly converted into digitally-stored backup copies. Watching streaming content or downloaded multimedia files have almost completely replaced television broadcasts and movies on disc, especially for viewers with a portable multimedia device. Unfortunately, the drawback to watching anything on an smartphone or tablet device is that the screen is often too small for full-resolution detail and audio quality falls flat.

Pivos Technology Group observed the shift to digital content, and produced the Pivos XIOS DS Media Play! embedded system (model PTGMCXDALU-US) for multimedia enthusiasts. Capable of playing nearly every modern video format across HDMI onto a HDTV or monitor at high-definition 1080p using the familiar Google Android interface. Powered by an ARM Cortex A9 processor and Mali-400 3D graphics, the Pivos XIOS DS is built on Google's Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) platform which allows this media player to natively support HTML5, Chrome, Flash, and even the installation of Google Play apps. In this article Benchmark Reviews tests the Pivos XIOS DS Media Play! system, and rates how well it performs against the leading competition.

Supported File Types

• AVI/ MKV/ TS/ TP/ TRP/ M2TS/ MPG/ MP4/ MOV/ M4V/ VOB/ IFO/ DAT/ WMV/ ASF/ RM/ RMVB/ FLV/ XVID/ DIVX 3,4,5 for up to 1080p resolution

• MP3/ OGG/ WMA/ WAV/ AAC/ FLAC

• HD JPEG/ BMP/ GIF/ TIF/ PNG

Supported Video Codecs

• MPEG 1/ 2/ 4, H.264, VC-1, WMV, M2TS, TS, RMVB, AVI, MKV, MOV, TS, MPEG, FLV, DivX, Xvid

Supported Audio Codecs

• MP2/ 3, OGG Vorbis, WMA, WAV, WMA PRO, PCM LPCM, MS-ADPCM, LC-AAC, HE-AAC, COOK, RA-Lossless, RM/ RMVB 8/ 9/ 10.

Supported Connections

• 1x HDMI 1.3 output
• 1x 10/100 Ethernet
• 1x 802.11 b/g/n built in wireless
• 3x USB 2.0 ports
• 1x MicroSD/SDHC Memory Slot (up to 32GB)

Supported Audio Output

• MP2/ 3, OGG Vorbis, WMA, WAV, WMA PRO, PCM LPCM, MS-ADPCM, LC-AAC, HE-AAC, COOK, RA-Lossless, RM/ RMVB 8/ 9/ 10.

Supported Languages

Arabic, Bulgarian, Catalan, Czech, Danish, German, Greek, English, Spanish, Finnish, French, Hebrew, Hindi, Croatian, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Lithuanian, Latvian, Norwegian-Bokmol, Dutch, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Slovenian, Serbian, Swedish, Thai, Tagalog, Turkish, Ukrainian, Vietnamese, Simplified & Traditional Chinese

Supported Subtitle Types

SRT, SMI, SSA, ASS, IDX/SUB, SUB

Requirements

REQUIRED: High Definition Display device with HDMI input (up to 1080p resolution for best results).
* Recommended: Wired or Wireless network connection is required for network or internet content. Audio amplifier is required for digital surround sound.

Package Contents

• XIOS DS Media Play!
• Remote Control (battery included)
• HDMI 1.3 digital A/V cable
• A/C Power Adapter
• Quick-Start guide

Source: http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1055&Itemid=66

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Cytomegalovirus might speed brain-cancer growth

Public release date: 1-Jun-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Darrell E. Ward
Darrell.Ward@osumc.edu
614-293-3737
Ohio State University Medical Center

COLUMBUS, Ohio A virus that infects most Americans but that usually remains dormant in the body might speed the progression of an aggressive form of brain cancer when particular genes are shut off in tumor cells, new research shows. The animal study by researchers at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC James) and at Dana Farber Cancer Institute suggests that cytomegalovirus (CMV) might significantly accelerate the development and progression of glioblastoma, a deadly form of brain cancer.

The virus by itself does not cause cancer, the study suggests, but it might influence tumor development when changes occur that silence two genes called p53 and Nf1 in tumor cells. These genes are protective "tumor suppressor" genes that normally cause cells to die before they become malignant. But cancer-related changes can silence them, enabling malignant cells to survive, multiply and form tumors.

The findings are published in the journal Cancer Research. Some 50 to 80 percent of Americans become infected with CMV by age 40. The virus is transmitted by contact with infected saliva and other body fluids, and through sexual contact. Most people are infected early in life and then the virus remains dormant.

"CMV has been detected in many cancer types, suggesting that it might be reactivated when cancer occurs in the body," says co-corresponding author and researcher Dr. Chang-Hyuk Kwon, assistant professor of neurological surgery, at the OSUCCC James and at the Dardinger Center for Neuro-oncology and Neurosciences.

The researchers also learned that CMV stimulates tumor-cell proliferation by activating a biochemical cell pathway called STAT3. In healthy cells, STAT3 plays an important role in controlling cell proliferation.

"Our data indicate that CMV contributes to glioblastoma when already-mutated cancer cells proliferate using the STAT3 signaling pathway," Kwon says. "We believe that CMV's action occurs in the tumor's cells of origin early in tumor initiation."

The findings raise questions about how cancer is studied, says co-corresponding author Dr. E. Antonio Chiocca, chairman of neurosurgery at the Brigham and Women's Hospital and surgical director for the Center for Neuro-oncology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.

"First, we usually study cancer in models that are virus-free, but our findings suggest that CMV might play a significant role in human cancers," he says.

"Secondly, anti-viral therapy against CMV might now be justified for human cancers, and immune responses to such cancer-modulating viruses should be carefully studied," Chiocca says.

About 18,500 new cases of glioblastoma multiforme are expected annually in the U.S., and 12,760 Americans are expected to die of the disease.

Kwon, Chiocca and their colleagues conducted the study using two mouse models infected with murine CMV (MCMV). One model developed glioblastoma spontaneously; the other received implants of human glioblastoma cells. Key technical findings include:

• MCMV-infected mice with genetic mutations in p53 and NF1 in their brain cells that predisposed them to spontaneous glioblastoma had shorter survival than non-MCMV-infected mice with the same mutations;
• Implanting human gliomas into the brains of MCMV-infected animals significantly shortened their survival compared with controls;
• MCMV infection increased levels of activated STAT3 in neural stem cells, the cells in which glioblastoma is thought to originate;
• Human CMV increased STAT3 activation and proliferation of patient-derived glioblastoma cells; a STAT3 inhibitor reversed this effect in cell and animal models.

###

Other researchers involved in this study were Richard L. Price, Jieun Song, Katherine Bingmer, Tae Hyong Kim, Ji-Yeun Yi, Xiaokui Mo, Todd Hollon, Eric Murnan, Christopher Alvarez-Breckenridge, Soledad Fernandez, Balveen Kaur, Andreana Rivera, Michael Oglesbee and Charles Cook of Ohio State; and Michal O. Nowicki from the Brigham and Women's Hospital/Dana Farber Cancer Institute.

The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute strives to create a cancer-free world by integrating scientific research with excellence in education and patient-centered care, a strategy that leads to better methods of prevention, detection and treatment. Ohio State is one of only 41 National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers and one of only seven centers funded by the NCI to conduct both phase I and phase II clinical trials. The NCI recently rated Ohio State's cancer program as "exceptional," the highest rating given by NCI survey teams. As the cancer program's 210-bed adult patient-care component, The James is a "Top Hospital" as named by the Leapfrog Group and one of the top cancer hospitals in the nation as ranked by U.S.News & World Report.

• Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infects most middle-aged Americans, and it is often associated with an aggressive form of brain cancer; whether it plays a role in the cancer is unknown;
• This study indicates that, in mice, a mouse CMV can speed the tumor's growth when two protective genes called p53 and NF1 are mutated in neural stem cells of the brain.
• The findings suggest that viruses might influence cancer progression, and that anti-viral therapy might improve the treatment of these aggressive brain tumors.

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Public release date: 1-Jun-2013
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Contact: Darrell E. Ward
Darrell.Ward@osumc.edu
614-293-3737
Ohio State University Medical Center

COLUMBUS, Ohio A virus that infects most Americans but that usually remains dormant in the body might speed the progression of an aggressive form of brain cancer when particular genes are shut off in tumor cells, new research shows. The animal study by researchers at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC James) and at Dana Farber Cancer Institute suggests that cytomegalovirus (CMV) might significantly accelerate the development and progression of glioblastoma, a deadly form of brain cancer.

The virus by itself does not cause cancer, the study suggests, but it might influence tumor development when changes occur that silence two genes called p53 and Nf1 in tumor cells. These genes are protective "tumor suppressor" genes that normally cause cells to die before they become malignant. But cancer-related changes can silence them, enabling malignant cells to survive, multiply and form tumors.

The findings are published in the journal Cancer Research. Some 50 to 80 percent of Americans become infected with CMV by age 40. The virus is transmitted by contact with infected saliva and other body fluids, and through sexual contact. Most people are infected early in life and then the virus remains dormant.

"CMV has been detected in many cancer types, suggesting that it might be reactivated when cancer occurs in the body," says co-corresponding author and researcher Dr. Chang-Hyuk Kwon, assistant professor of neurological surgery, at the OSUCCC James and at the Dardinger Center for Neuro-oncology and Neurosciences.

The researchers also learned that CMV stimulates tumor-cell proliferation by activating a biochemical cell pathway called STAT3. In healthy cells, STAT3 plays an important role in controlling cell proliferation.

"Our data indicate that CMV contributes to glioblastoma when already-mutated cancer cells proliferate using the STAT3 signaling pathway," Kwon says. "We believe that CMV's action occurs in the tumor's cells of origin early in tumor initiation."

The findings raise questions about how cancer is studied, says co-corresponding author Dr. E. Antonio Chiocca, chairman of neurosurgery at the Brigham and Women's Hospital and surgical director for the Center for Neuro-oncology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.

"First, we usually study cancer in models that are virus-free, but our findings suggest that CMV might play a significant role in human cancers," he says.

"Secondly, anti-viral therapy against CMV might now be justified for human cancers, and immune responses to such cancer-modulating viruses should be carefully studied," Chiocca says.

About 18,500 new cases of glioblastoma multiforme are expected annually in the U.S., and 12,760 Americans are expected to die of the disease.

Kwon, Chiocca and their colleagues conducted the study using two mouse models infected with murine CMV (MCMV). One model developed glioblastoma spontaneously; the other received implants of human glioblastoma cells. Key technical findings include:

• MCMV-infected mice with genetic mutations in p53 and NF1 in their brain cells that predisposed them to spontaneous glioblastoma had shorter survival than non-MCMV-infected mice with the same mutations;
• Implanting human gliomas into the brains of MCMV-infected animals significantly shortened their survival compared with controls;
• MCMV infection increased levels of activated STAT3 in neural stem cells, the cells in which glioblastoma is thought to originate;
• Human CMV increased STAT3 activation and proliferation of patient-derived glioblastoma cells; a STAT3 inhibitor reversed this effect in cell and animal models.

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Other researchers involved in this study were Richard L. Price, Jieun Song, Katherine Bingmer, Tae Hyong Kim, Ji-Yeun Yi, Xiaokui Mo, Todd Hollon, Eric Murnan, Christopher Alvarez-Breckenridge, Soledad Fernandez, Balveen Kaur, Andreana Rivera, Michael Oglesbee and Charles Cook of Ohio State; and Michal O. Nowicki from the Brigham and Women's Hospital/Dana Farber Cancer Institute.

The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute strives to create a cancer-free world by integrating scientific research with excellence in education and patient-centered care, a strategy that leads to better methods of prevention, detection and treatment. Ohio State is one of only 41 National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers and one of only seven centers funded by the NCI to conduct both phase I and phase II clinical trials. The NCI recently rated Ohio State's cancer program as "exceptional," the highest rating given by NCI survey teams. As the cancer program's 210-bed adult patient-care component, The James is a "Top Hospital" as named by the Leapfrog Group and one of the top cancer hospitals in the nation as ranked by U.S.News & World Report.

• Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infects most middle-aged Americans, and it is often associated with an aggressive form of brain cancer; whether it plays a role in the cancer is unknown;
• This study indicates that, in mice, a mouse CMV can speed the tumor's growth when two protective genes called p53 and NF1 are mutated in neural stem cells of the brain.
• The findings suggest that viruses might influence cancer progression, and that anti-viral therapy might improve the treatment of these aggressive brain tumors.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/osum-cms052813.php

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