The consumption of bovine milk and meat is considered a risk factor for colon- and breast cancer formation, and milk consumption has also been implicated in an increased risk for developing Multiple Sclerosis (MS). A number of highly related virus-like DNAs have been recently isolated from bovine milk and sera and from a brain sample of a MS patient. As a genetic activity of these Acinetobacter-related bovine milk and meat factors (BMMFs) is unknown in eukaryotes, we analyzed their expression and replication potential in human HEK293TT cells. While all analyzed BMMFs show transcriptional activity, the MS brain isolate MSBI1.176, sharing homology with a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy-associated DNA molecule, is transcribed at highest levels. We show expression of a replication-associated protein (Rep), which is highly conserved among all BMMFs, and serological tests indicate a human anti-Rep immune response. While the cow milk isolate CMI1.252 is replication-competent in HEK293TT cells, replication of MSBI1.176 is complemented by CMI1.252, pointing at an interplay during the establishment of persistence in human cells. Transcriptome profiling upon BMMF expression identified host cellular gene expression changes related to cell cycle progression and cell viability control, indicating potential pathways for a pathogenic involvement of BMMFs.
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 48. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 08 May 2025.
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Altmetric has tracked 33,779,198 research outputs across all sources so far. Compared to these this one has done particularly well and is in the 96th percentile: it's in the top 5% of all research outputs ever tracked by Altmetric.
So far Altmetric has tracked 181,634 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a lot more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 18.1. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 93% of its peers.
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