TGF-beta signalling pathway factors in HPV-induced cervical lesions

Human papillomaviruses (HPV) are considered the etiological agents of cervical cancer, especially high-risk genotypes. TGF-beta (transforming growth factor-beta) is well known for its anti-proliferative effects but the neoplastic cells often lose their sensitivity to TGF-beta. A characteristic alteration associated with malignant progression is the loss of responsiveness to TGF-beta1-induced cell growth inhibition. The aim of the present study was to establish the possible role of some members of TGF-beta signalling pathway during cervical cancer development and the possible relationship with HPV infection. In order to establish TGF-beta gene expression levels in cervical oncogenesis, TGF-beta1, TGF-beta1 receptors and Smad2 were investigated in precancerous and cervical cancer samples (Quantitative Real-Time PCR). The study revealed that 84.5% of patients were positive for HPV DNA. The most prevalent HPV genotypes were high-risk HPV 16 and 18 in single or co-infections. Expression of TGF-beta1 decreased as tumor cells progressed from cervical intraepithelial neoplasia to cervical carcinoma. Furthermore, we observed that cervical lesions without HPV infection expressed significantly less TGF-beta1. TGF-betaRI and Smad2 gene expression levels were found to be decreased in SCC and AC samples in contrast with CIN1 and CIN2/3 samples. Our results showed that in human cervical cancer the disruption of TGF-beta/Smad signalling pathway might contribute to the malignant progression of cervical dysplasia. These data emphasize the importance of canonical TGF-beta pathway integrity in carcinogenesis.     

Risk of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia in women with glomerulonephritis.

OBJECTIVE--To investigate the occurrence of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia in women with glomerulonephritis and its possible association with immunosuppressive treatment. DESIGN--Retrospective study of cytological or histological specimens from women presenting with glomerulonephritis and a group of case and age matched controls. SETTING--University department of pathology, Norway. PATIENTS--81 women presenting with glomerulonephritis from 1981 to 1988, from whom gynaecological cytological or histological specimens were available. A group of 162 case and age matched controls. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES--Age when glomerulonephritis of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia was diagnosed, type and characteristics of kidney lesion, stage of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia and presence of human papillomavirus, use of immunosuppressive treatment. RESULTS--Cervical intraepithelial neoplasia was more common in women with glomerulonephritis than in their controls (16/81 (20%) v 7/162 (4%), p less than 0.001) and was more advanced in those with glomerulonephritis than in the controls (9/81 (11%) of the study group had grade III cervical intraepithelial neoplasia compared with 1/162 (1%) of the controls). The increased occurrence of cervical lesions was independent of the use of immunosuppressive treatment, but the individual lesions tended to be more advanced when it was used (four of the seven cervical lesions in women with glomerulonephritis who had received immunosuppressive treatment were carcinoma in situ). Of the nine cervical lesions tested, seven were virus associated. CONCLUSION--Women with glomerulonephritis should have regular cervical smears, irrespective of their use of immunosuppressive treatment.     

Seroreactivity to HPV-16 proteins in women with early cervical neoplasia

Summary Although serological reactivity to human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV-16) proteins has been demonstrated in patients with invasive cervical carcinoma, the degree of seroreactivity to these proteins in women with preinvasive disease and its relationship to the HPV type associated with the disease are unclear. We obtained sera from 27 women undergoing cone biopsy for cervical precursor lesions and 22 controls and analyzed seroreactivity by Western blot to fusion proteins containing portions of the HPV-16 E4, L1 and L2 open-reading frames (ORFs). Positives were analyzed by scanning densitometry and intensity values for each case plotted relative to controls. Cervical biopsy specimens from patients were analyzed for HPV-16 nucleic acids by DNA · DNA in situ hybridization. Mean intensity values for seroreactivity to the pATH-E4 protein approached significance (P = 0.058) and a significantly higher proportion of cases vs controls registered values over 4.0 for pATH-E4 (26% vs 4.5%;P = 0.04) and pATH-L2 (48% vs 18%;P = 0.03) proteins. A significantly higher mean intensity value for E4 was observed for cases containing HPV-16 DNA vs HPV-16 negative cases or controls. Thus, seroreactivity to HPV-16-derived proteins may be more common in women with preinvasive cervical disease, and for some protein targets (E4) may indicate a relatively type-specific response.Supported in part by grants from the National Cancer Institute [CA 47676 (C.P.C.)], American Cancer Society [MV-395 (C.P.C.)] and an institutional support grant (J.K.R.). Dr. Crum is a recipient of a Physician Scientist Award from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (AI00628)     

Front-to-back & dabbing wiping behaviour post-toilet associated with anal neoplasia & HR-HPV carriage in women with previous HPV-mediated gynaecological neoplasia

BackgroundAnal cancer is a human papillomavirus (HPV)-mediated neoplasia of the anal squamous epithelium. Anal cancer is much more common among women, particularly those with a previous high-grade gynaecological neoplasia.MethodsCross-sectional study of women with a previous HPV-mediated gynaecological neoplasia in Tasmania, Australia. Women presenting for follow-up gynaecological care had anal swab samples taken for anal cytology by Hologic Liquid ThinPrep, followed by HPV genotyping. Women with abnormal anal cytology were invited for high-resolution anoscopy. Potential risk factors, including post-toilet wiping behaviours, were queried by questionnaire while clinical covariates were extracted from medical records. Covariates of anal outcomes evaluated by log-binomial and log-multinomial regression.ResultsFrom 163 women enrolled in the study, 65 (39.9%) had abnormal cytology, with 46 (28.2%) being high-grade. Of the 50 women with abnormal anal cytology having high-resolution anoscopy, 32 (64.0%) had abnormal histology with 13 (26.0%) being high-grade. Of the 123 women tested for HR-HPV DNA, 48 (39.0%) had HR-HPV detected, the most common genotypes being 16 and 51 (14/123, 11.4% for both).In addition to some known anal cancer risk factors, we found front-to-back wiping was associated with significantly increased (Prevalence ratio (PR) range: 1.99⿿3.60) prevalence of cytological and histological abnormality and HR-HPV carriage/co-carriage, while dabbing post-toilet was significantly associated with decreased prevalences (PR range: 0.50⿿0.62).ConclusionsPost-toilet wiping behaviours were significantly associated with the prevalence of anal cytological, histological and HR-HPV carriage outcomes. This suggests a biologically plausible mechanism for HR-HPV introduction and the higher frequencies of anal neoplasia in women.     

Chlamydia trachomatis infection and human papillomavirus in women with cervical neoplasia in Pernambuco-Brazil

Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) is the most common bacterial cause of sexually transmitted disease. High-risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV) is considered the main etiological agent for cervical neoplasia. Evidences showed that the presence of co-infection of CT and HR-HPV plays a central role in the etiology of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) and cervical cancer. The goals of this study were: evaluate the human papillomavirus (HPV) and CT prevalence among Brazilian women with abnormal cytology and provide the effect of this association on the severity of cervical neoplasia. The population of this study was composed by 142 women with incident histological incidence of CIN grades I, II, III or cervical cancer from Recife, Northeast of Brazil. The polymerase chain reaction method on a cervical brush specimen was used to detect both agents and the automatic sequencing method was used for HPV genotyping assay. The prevalence of HPV and CT was 100 and 24.65 %, respectively. Thirteen types of HPV were detected; HPV 16, 18, 31 and 33 were the most common. The most prevalent HPV types were HPV 16 and 18. A significant association between CT positive and HPV 16 infection was found (p < 0.0106; OR = 5.31; 95 % IC 1.59–17.67). In the study population, there was diversity of HPV infections, with high-risk types being the most common. Also, the data collected suggest that CT infection may play an important role in the natural history of HPV infection.     

Human papillomavirus infection and cervical intraepithelial neoplasia in women with renal allografts.

An increased prevalence of cervical cancer has been observed in immunosuppressed women, but controlled studies are rare. Biopsy specimens from 49 women with renal allografts and 69 non-immunosuppressed controls (with no history of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia, vulval warts, or abnormal results of cervical smear tests) were assessed for colposcopic appearance, cytological and histological diagnosis, and the presence of human papillomavirus types 6/11 and 16/18 DNA sequences. At colposcopy 26 (53%) of the women with allografts had cervical abnormalities compared with 20 (29%) of the controls. The prevalence of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia was significantly higher in the women with allografts (24 (49%) compared with 7 (10%]. The overall rate of detection of human papillomavirus DNA did not differ significantly between the two groups. There was however, a significant difference in the rate of detection of human papillomavirus type 16/18 DNA (27% in the women with allografts and 6% in the controls). These data confirm that pathological and virological changes affecting the cervix are significantly increased in immunosuppressed women and emphasise the need for regular colposcopic examination.     

Cytologic predictors of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia in women with an ASCUS Pap smear

OBJECTIVE: To identify cytologic parameters on Pap smears of women with an atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASCUS) diagnosis that could help cytologists to indicate whether a particular ASCUS case is most likely related to cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) grade 1 or 2/3. STUDY DESIGN: A total of 360 eligible women diagnosed with ASCUS and referred to the colposcopy clinic of Saint-Sacrement Hospital participated in the study. Eligible women were those aged 18-50 years, newly diagnosed with ASCUS, with no history of cervical biopsies or treatment, and not pregnant at the time of the visit. Colposcopically directed biopsies of lesions were obtained. All Pap smears were reviewed according to 36 different cytomorphologic criteria. The regression logistic model was used to estimate the odds ratios (ORs) for the associations between cytologic criteria observed in smears and the diagnosis of CIN made on biopsies. All cytologic criteria significantly (P < .05) associated with CIN were entered in the models, and a backward selection was done to determine independent cytologic predictors of CIN 1 and 2/3. RESULTS: Biopsies revealed that 22.2% of the study population had concurrent CIN. CIN I and 2/3 were identified in 61 (16.9%) and 19 women (5.3%), respectively. Clear perinuclear spaces (OR = 2.5, P = .002) and moderate nuclear atypia (OR = 4.4, P = .02) were two cytologic criteria independently associated with CIN 1. Four independent predictors of CIN 2/3 were identified: the presence of clear perinuclear spaces (OR = 5.9, P = .004), hyperchromasia (OR = 3.9, P = .04), moderate anisokaryosis (OR = 13.1, P = .01 and increased nuclear volume of metaplastic cells (OR = 5.1, P = .007). CONCLUSION: These observations may help cytologists to better categorize ASCUS lesions as intraepithelial ones and will also contribute to improving the Bethesda definition of ASCUS. Further studies are planned to validate these observations.     

宫颈上皮内瘤变与宫颈微生物群落结构的相关性

目的分析宫颈上皮内瘤变与宫颈微生物群落结构的相关性。方法选取2017年1月至2018年10月于我院就诊的253例女性进行回顾性分析,根据是否患有宫颈上皮内瘤变分为CIN组(86例)及对照组(167例)。采集纳入对象的宫颈菌群并提取细菌基因组DNA,对细菌16S rRNA V3、V4区片段进行PCR扩增,并采用Illuminate Miseq测序平台对PCR产物进行测序,分析两组对象宫颈微生物群落结构,并分析患者宫颈微生物群落结构与宫颈上皮内瘤变的相关性。结果两组对象宫颈微生物群落的Simpson指数及Shannon指数比较差异无统计学意义(t=1.474、1.636,P0.05),而CIN组的Chao指数及ACE指数均高于对照组(t=9.213、10.420,P0.05)。16S rRNA分析显示放线菌是宫颈部位的主要菌群。CIN组女性宫颈微生物群落中放线菌、奇异菌属、放线菌门、阴道奇异菌及奇异变形菌占主要优势(LDA4log10),对照组中杆菌、厚壁菌门等占主要优势。Spearman相关分析示卷曲乳杆菌、惰性乳杆菌、格氏乳杆菌、詹氏乳杆菌与宫颈上皮内瘤变呈负相关,而加特纳菌、阴道奇异菌、普雷沃氏菌、粪球菌与宫颈上皮内瘤变呈正相关(均P0.05)。结论 CIN女性宫颈菌群与健康女性存在明显差异,其中卷曲乳杆菌、惰性乳杆菌、格氏乳杆菌、詹氏乳杆菌与宫颈上皮内瘤变呈负相关,而加特纳菌、阴道奇异菌、普雷沃氏菌、粪球菌与宫颈上皮内瘤变呈正相关。     

Risk factors associated with human papillomavirus prevalence and cervical neoplasia among Cameroonian women

BackgroundThis study used community-based cervical cancer screening for high-risk human-papillomavirus (HPV) to determine demographic and lifestyle factors associated with HPV prevalence and cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 2 or worse (CIN2+).MethodsWomen (n = 838) aged 25–65 years were recruited in two sequential studies in Cameroon. Demographic and historical data were obtained from participants and specimens were self-collected for HPV-testing using real-time PCR. HPV-positive women underwent biopsy and endocervical curettage. Associations were determined using bivariate analysis and logistic regression.ResultsHPV and self-reported HIV prevalence were 39.0% and 9.2%, respectively. Eighteen (9.3%) CIN2+ lesions were found among HPV-positive women. Housewives had a higher risk of being HPV infected (OR = 1.60, p = 0.010). HIV co-infection (aOR = 3.44, p < 0.001) and hormonal contraception (aOR = 1.97, p = 0.007) were associated with increased HPV prevalence. HPV-positive women who used condoms during sexual intercourse were at lower risk of CIN2+ (aOR = 0.15, p = 0.029). CIN2–3 lesions were found in women younger than 50 years, with a median age of 36 years (31–44). HPV-16/18-positive women had a 4.65-fold increased risk of CIN2+ (p = 0.015).ConclusionsYoung, single women and housewives were at higher risk of HPV infection. Preventive strategies for cervical cancer in low-resource settings should target women aged 30–50 years for HPV screening, and should focus treatment and follow-up on HPV-16/18-positive women. Further studies are needed to clarify if other risk factors require attention.     

STAT3基因多态性与女性人乳头瘤病毒感染及宫颈病变的关系

目的探究女性人乳头瘤病毒(HPV)感染及转录活化因子3(STAT3)单核苷酸基因多态性(SNPs)的改变。方法2016年9月至2019年9月经病理组织学确定的健康子宫者60例(NC组)、低度鳞状上皮内病变(LSIL)50例(LSIL组)、高度鳞状上皮内病变(HSIL)55例(HSIL组)和宫颈鳞状细胞癌(CSCC)57例(CSCC组),PCR测定HPV感染情况,同时采用PCR 限制片段长度多态性(RFLP)测定各组STAT3基因C1697G多态性。结果HSIL组、LSIL组及CSCC组高危HPV与NC组比较阳性率显著升高,CSCC组(98.24%)显著高于HSIL组(72.73%)和LSIL组(5.8%),HSIL组显著高于LSIL组,结果均具有统计学差异(P<0.05)。LSIL组、HSIL组及CSCC组中与NC组比较显著升高的基因比例为C/C型,CSCC组C/C型基因比例为70.18%,HSIL组(58.18%)C/C型基因比例显著高于LSIL组(0.18%)(P<0.05)。与HPV阴性比较,C/C型基因比例在HPV阳性中显著升高(P<0.05)。通过调整年龄因素,C/G基因型HPV感染风险上升到3.120(95％CI:0.847～4.995),发生宫颈癌的风险上升到3.876(95％CI为0.935～5.336);C/C型基因HPV感染风险上升到3.574(95％CI为0.893～4.912),发生宫颈癌的风险上升到5.137(95％CI为0.967～5.776)。结论STAT3基因C1697G多态性与HPV易感性及宫颈病变的发生发展有密切关系。     

乳杆菌属细菌对宫颈上皮内瘤变患者阴道菌群的影响

目的 分析乳杆菌属细菌对宫颈上皮内瘤变(CIN)患者阴道菌群的影响,为该类患者的治疗提供参考.方法 选择2019年1月至2020年1月我院收治的CIN患者137例,根据组织学病理结果分为CIN Ⅰ组(84例)和CIN Ⅱ、Ⅲ组(53例).选择同期100例宫颈检查正常者为对照组.比较各组对象阴道菌群数量.根据患者阴道内乳...     

IFN-gamma and IL-12B polymorphisms in women with cervical intraepithellial neoplasia caused by human papillomavirus

The Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is a sexually transmitted organism associated with Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia (CIN) and cervical cancer, the second main cause of malignancy in women worldwide. The virus itself, however, is not enough to cause lesions on the cervix. Several studies suggest that some polymorphic sites changes the cytokines levels and influence the cancer development in HPV infected patients. In this study, we evaluated the presence of functional polymorphisms at +874 (T/A) IFNG and +1188 (A/C) IL-12B genes in cervical smears samples from 76 healthy women and 162 women, HPV positive, with CIN lesion--CIN I (45), CIN II (55), CIN III (53) and cervical cancer (9)--in Brazilian population. There was no significant differences in genotype (p = 0.4192) and allele (p = 0.370; OR = 1.20) distributions between CIN patients and control groups on IFNG allelic polymorphism. Moreover, for IL-12B gene, there was a significant difference in genotype (p = 0.015) and allele distribution (p = 0.014; OR = 0.5754) between the groups. When samples were stratified according to grade of cervical lesion, the AA genotype and A allele were less frequent in the group with low-grade cervical lesions than in group with high-grade cervical lesions (p = 0.0036 and p = 0.0010; OR = 0.3819, respectively), suggesting that the C allele (mutant) may protect against the emergence of CIN lesions and its progression.     

宫颈上皮内瘤变患者阴道微生态状况与LEEP术后预后关系

目的 研究宫颈上皮内瘤变（CIN）患者阴道微生态状况及LEEP术后阴道微生态状况的变化特点,分析阴道微生态状况与CIN患者预后的关系。方法 回顾性分析2016年1月至2018年1月温州医科大学定理临床学院122例高危型人乳头瘤病毒（hr-HPV）阳性的CIN患者LEEP术治疗前后阴道微生态的变化特点。结果 LEEP术后菌群密集度Ⅱ~Ⅲ级（74.59%）、多样性Ⅱ~Ⅲ级（68.03%）、乳酸分级Ⅰ~Ⅱa级（70.49%）出现增多,需氧菌性阴道病（AV）（9.84%）、细菌性阴道病（BV）（14.75%）、外阴阴道假丝酵母菌病（VVC）（12.30%）以及滴虫性阴道炎（2.46%）的检出率降低和pH值（4.2±0.5）降低,与术前比较差异具有统计学意义（均P<0.05）;术后复诊hr-HPV阳性CIN患者菌群密集度Ⅱ~Ⅲ级（35.00%）、多样性Ⅱ~Ⅲ级（40.00%）、乳酸分级Ⅰ~Ⅱa级（25.00%）低于hr-HPV阴性CIN患者,AV（30.00%）、BV（35.00%）、VVC（30.00%）检出率,pH值（4.9±0.4）高于hr-HPV阴性CIN患者,差异有统计学意义（均P<0.05）。结论 阴道微生态失衡可降低宫颈免疫力,促进CIN进展、癌变,改善阴道微生态可抑制hr-HPV的感染,抑制宫颈细胞的异常增生、癌变。