The dawn of prophylactic vaccines against human papillomaviruses and cervical cancer

2006 ◽  
Vol 119 (11) ◽  
pp. xi-xii
Author(s):  
Magnus von Knebel Doeberitz
Cancers ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 1934 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric Ehrke-Schulz ◽  
Sonja Heinemann ◽  
Lukas Schulte ◽  
Maren Schiwon ◽  
Anja Ehrhardt

Human papillomaviruses (HPV) cause malignant epithelial cancers including cervical carcinoma, non-melanoma skin and head and neck cancer. They drive tumor development through the expression of their oncoproteins E6 and E7. Designer nucleases were shown to be efficient to specifically destroy HPV16 and HPV18 oncogenes to induce cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. Here, we used high-capacity adenoviral vectors (HCAdVs) expressing the complete CRISPR/Cas9 machinery specific for HPV18-E6 or HPV16-E6. Cervical cancer cell lines SiHa and CaSki containing HPV16 and HeLa cells containing HPV18 genomes integrated into the cellular genome, as well as HPV-negative cancer cells were transduced with HPV-type-specific CRISPR-HCAdV. Upon adenoviral delivery, the expression of HPV-type-specific CRISPR/Cas9 resulted in decreased cell viability of HPV-positive cervical cancer cell lines, whereas HPV-negative cells were unaffected. Transduced cervical cancer cells showed increased apoptosis induction and decreased proliferation compared to untreated or HPV negative control cells. This suggests that HCAdV can serve as HPV-specific cancer gene therapeutic agents when armed with HPV-type-specific CRISPR/Cas9. Based on the versatility of the CRISPR/Cas9 system, we anticipate that our approach can contribute to personalized treatment options specific for the respective HPV type present in each individual tumor.


Cells ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 714
Author(s):  
Matthias Läsche ◽  
Horst Urban ◽  
Julia Gallwas ◽  
Carsten Gründker

Cervical cancer is responsible for around 5% of all human cancers worldwide. It develops almost exclusively from an unsolved, persistent infection of the squamocolumnar transformation zone between the endo- and ecto-cervix with various high-risk (HR) human papillomaviruses (HPVs). The decisive turning point on the way to persistent HPV infection and malignant transformation is an immune system weakened by pathobionts and oxidative stress and an injury to the cervical mucosa, often caused by sexual activities. Through these injury and healing processes, HPV viruses, hijacking activated keratinocytes, move into the basal layers of the cervical epithelium and then continue their development towards the distal prickle cell layer (Stratum spinosum). The microbial microenvironment of the cervical tissue determines the tissue homeostasis and the integrity of the protective mucous layer through the maintenance of a healthy immune and metabolic signalling. Pathological microorganisms and the resulting dysbiosis disturb this signalling. Thus, pathological inflammatory reactions occur, which manifest the HPV infection. About 90% of all women contract an HPV infection in the course of their lives. In about 10% of cases, the virus persists and cervical intra-epithelial neoplasia (CIN) develops. Approximately 1% of women with a high-risk HPV infection incur a cervical carcinoma after 10 to 20 years. In this non-systematic review article, we summarise how the sexually and microbial mediated pathogenesis of the cervix proceeds through aberrant immune and metabolism signalling via CIN to cervical carcinoma. We show how both the virus and the cancer benefit from the same changes in the immune and metabolic environment.


2019 ◽  
Vol 116 (39) ◽  
pp. 19552-19562 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justine Sitz ◽  
Sophie Anne Blanchet ◽  
Steven F. Gameiro ◽  
Elise Biquand ◽  
Tia M. Morgan ◽  
...  

High-risk human papillomaviruses (HR-HPVs) promote cervical cancer as well as a subset of anogenital and head and neck cancers. Due to their limited coding capacity, HPVs hijack the host cell’s DNA replication and repair machineries to replicate their own genomes. How this host–pathogen interaction contributes to genomic instability is unknown. Here, we report that HPV-infected cancer cells express high levels of RNF168, an E3 ubiquitin ligase that is critical for proper DNA repair following DNA double-strand breaks, and accumulate high numbers of 53BP1 nuclear bodies, a marker of genomic instability induced by replication stress. We describe a mechanism by which HPV E7 subverts the function of RNF168 at DNA double-strand breaks, providing a rationale for increased homology-directed recombination in E6/E7-expressing cervical cancer cells. By targeting a new regulatory domain of RNF168, E7 binds directly to the E3 ligase without affecting its enzymatic activity. As RNF168 knockdown impairs viral genome amplification in differentiated keratinocytes, we propose that E7 hijacks the E3 ligase to promote the viral replicative cycle. This study reveals a mechanism by which tumor viruses reshape the cellular response to DNA damage by manipulating RNF168-dependent ubiquitin signaling. Importantly, our findings reveal a pathway by which HPV may promote the genomic instability that drives oncogenesis.


1998 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 475-480 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wolfgang Meschede ◽  
Klaus Zumbach ◽  
Joris Braspenning ◽  
Martin Scheffner ◽  
Luis Benitez-Bribiesca ◽  
...  

Cervical cancer is the most prevalent tumor in developing countries and the second most frequent cancer among females worldwide. Specific human papillomaviruses (HPVs) and, most notably, HPV types 16 and 18 are recognized as being causally associated with this malignancy. Antibodies against early HPV proteins E6 and E7 have been found more often in patients with tumors than in controls. Existing peptide enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) for the detection of anti-E6 and anti-E7 antibodies in human sera have low levels of sensitivity and specificity and thus are not suitable for use as diagnostic tools. Based on highly purified recombinant native proteins, we developed four sandwich ELISAs for the detection of antibodies against HPV type 16 and 18 E6 and E7 proteins. We demonstrate their sensitivities and high degrees of specificity for cervical cancer. Among a total of 501 serum specimens from unselected patients with invasive cervical cancer, 52.9% reacted positively in at least one of the four assays. In contrast, among 244 serum specimens from control subjects without cervical cancer, only 2 reactive serum specimens (0.8%) were found. For 19 of 19 antibody-positive patients, the HPV type indicated by seroreactivity was identical to the HPV DNA type found in the tumor, which also indicates a high degree of specificity for antibody detection with respect to HPV type. In a direct comparison of 72 serum specimens from patients with cervical cancer, 56% of the specimens reacted in at least one of the four protein ELISAs, whereas 40% reacted in at least one of seven peptide ELISAs covering the four antigens. These assays could be of value for the detection of invasive cervical cancer in settings in which cytology-based early tumor screening is not available, for the clinical management of patients diagnosed with cervical cancer, and for the immunological monitoring of E6 and E7 vaccination trials.


2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 59-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. M. Volgareva ◽  
V. D. Ermilova ◽  
A. V. Khachaturyan ◽  
V. V. Tatarskiy ◽  
L. S. Pavlova

Introduction. High indices of prostate cancer (PC) incidence and mortality as well as high speed of growth of these figures testify to urgency of research into PC origin as well as means of its prophylaxis. The problem of possible PC association with oncogenic human papillomaviruses (HPV) is still being disputable. Objective: to test whether surgical materials from PC patients in Russia harbour E7 oncogene of HPV type 16 (HPV16), the main HPV type responsible for cervical cancer. Materials and methods. Prostate tissues excised in the course of radical prostatectomy from 17 PC patients were tested by polymerase chain reaction. For better DNA preservation cryopreserved tumor specimens not treated with either formalin or paraffin were used. The PC typical multifocal type of growth was taken into account by microdissecting of cryostate cuts to accumulate homogeneous cells (cancerous, dysplastic or normal). Results. HPV16 E7 was registered in prostate tissues of 7 patients out of 17 examined including all those 5 cases for which DNA had been isolated from homogeneous sites of cancer cells. Conclusion. The result obtained enables one to admit that HPV16 may be harbored in prostates of Russian PC patients not infrequently.


Author(s):  
Nathalie L. Ambounda ◽  
Sylvain H. Woromogo ◽  
Olive M. Kenmogne ◽  
Felicite E. Yagata Moussa ◽  
Vicky N. Simo Tekem ◽  
...  

Background: High-risk oncogenic human papillomaviruses (HPV) are the cause of sexually transmitted viral infection. Its persistence is a risk factor for precancerous lesions of the cervix, which will constitute the base of cervical cancer. In the world, the prevalence of high-risk oncogenic HPV is 66.7%, which is higher among women starting their sexual activity.Methods: An analytical cross-sectional study was conducted in high schools in Gabon regarding parents. The variables selected were the socio-cultural and demographic characteristics of the parents, their knowledge of human papillomavirus vaccination and their acceptability of HPV vaccination and finally the feasibility of HPV vaccination. The statistical test used was Pearson's Chi-square, and a difference was considered significant for p<0.05.Results: The majority of parents, 89%, were informed of the existence of cervical cancer. However, 73.4% of them were unaware of the existence of vaccination against cervical cancer. Only 2.4% of parents had vaccinated their daughters against cervical cancer at the time of the study. These parents only 53.4% expressed an interest in vaccinating their daughters in 53.4% of cases. The ability to vaccinate children is associated with the socio-professional status of parents (p˂0.000).Conclusions: The majority of parents approved school-based vaccination against human papillomavirus infections despite its reported cost and lack of information. The integration of anti-HPV vaccination into the expanded programme on immunization in Gabon will improve immunization coverage.


2020 ◽  
pp. 1276-1281 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Thistle ◽  
Rabea Parpia ◽  
Debanjan Pain ◽  
Hang Lee ◽  
Justen Manasa ◽  
...  

PURPOSE High-risk human papillomaviruses (hrHPV) are the primary cause of cervical cancer. Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination is expected to prevent cervical cancers caused by the HPV types included in vaccines and possibly by cross-protection from other types. This study sought to determine the hrHPV type distribution in women at a rural Zimbabwe hospital. METHODS We implemented a cross-sectional study at the Karanda Mission Hospital. Using the Visual Inspection with Acetic Acid Cervicography technique, clinicians collected cervical swabs from 400 women presenting for screening for cervical cancer. Samples were initially analyzed by Cepheid GeneXpert; candidate hrHPV genotypes were further characterized using the Anyplex II HPV28 Detection Kit. RESULTS Twenty-one percent of the 400 women were positive for a high-risk genotype when using the GeneXpert analyzer; 17% were positive when using the multiplex analysis. Almost two thirds of the hrHPV women had a single DNA type identified, whereas one third had multiple genotypes, ranging from 2 to 5. hrHPV was observed more frequently in HIV-positive than in HIV-negative women (27% v 15%). Of the 113 isolates obtained, 77% were hrHPV genotypes not included in the bivalent or quadrivalent vaccines, and 47% represented DNA types not covered in the nonavalent vaccine. Forty-seven percent of the women with hrHPV harbored a single genotype that was not covered by the nonavalent vaccine. CONCLUSION A large fraction of hrHPV isolates from women participating in a cervical cancer screening program in northern Zimbabwe are DNA types not covered by the bivalent, quadrivalent, or nonavalent vaccines. These findings suggest the importance of characterizing the hrHPV DNA types isolated from cervical neoplasia in this population and determining whether cross-immunization against these genotypes develops after administration of the vaccines in current use.


2016 ◽  
Vol 150 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 185-193 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ge Gao ◽  
David I. Smith

Human papillomaviruses (HPV) are responsible for the development of almost all cervical cancers. HPV is also found in 85% of anal cancer and in 50% of penile, vulvar, and vaginal cancers, and they are increasingly found in a subset of head and neck cancers, i.e., oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinomas (OPSCC). The model for how HPV causes cancer is derived from several decades of study on cervical cancer, and it is just presumed that this model is not only completely valid for cervical cancer but for all other HPV-driven cancers as well. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) has now provided the necessary tools to characterize genomic alterations in cancer cells and can precisely determine the physical status of HPV in those cells as well. We discuss recent discoveries from different applications of NGS in both cervical cancer and OPSCCs, including whole-genome sequencing and mate-pair NGS. We also discuss what NGS studies have revealed about the different ways that HPV can be involved in cancer formation, specifically comparing cervical cancer and OPSCC.


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