HPV与喉癌研究新进展

头颈部肿瘤(Head and Neck Cancer,HNC)包括口腔,咽部,鼻腔以及喉部的肿瘤,拥有较高的发病率和复杂的发病机制。而在所有头颈部肿瘤中,喉癌占所有恶性肿瘤中的3%以上,是全球第六大最常见的恶性肿瘤,因此喉癌在所有HNC中应受到特殊的关注。人乳头瘤病毒(human papillomavirus,HPV)是小的双链DNA病毒。已有大量研究表明HPV感染与多种肿瘤的发生及预后密切相关。而目前HPV感染对HNC,尤其是对于口咽部肿瘤的致癌作用和临床意义引起学者们的重视,但是HPV感染对喉癌的作用目前尚未阐明。因此我们回顾了近年来关于HPV感染与喉癌相关性及其潜在致癌性的研究。尽管目前对于HPV在喉癌中的检出率多中心研究结果存在一定差异,但初步的研究已经表明HPV高危亚型的感染,如HPV16和HPV18等,与喉癌的发生存在一定的相关性,HPV病毒DNA与肿瘤细胞存在基因整合,同时喉癌细胞中P16的表达增高。但针对HPV感染后导致的相关疾病的预防及可行的精准性治疗措施目前尚不十分明确,还有待于进一步研究。     

Immune parameters of mice bearing human head and neck cancer

A xenogeneic human head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) model in immunocompetent mice was evaluated for its requirement of cyclosporine for progressive tumor growth. Tumor growth and T cell functions were assessed in mice receiving cyclosporine treatment for various lengths of time. Tumor cells were injected s.c. on day 1 and cyclosporine was injected i.p. daily on days 1, 1–7, 1–14, 1–21, or for the entire 28 days of tumor growth. All mice developed tumors. These tumors were confirmed to be squamous carcinomas of human origin histologically and by positive staining for human MHC class I antigen expression. Tumors were largest in mice that received cyclosporine for days 1–21 or days 1–28. Increased tumor size was associated with increased serum levels of tumor-reactive antibodies, an increased intratumoral frequency of CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ cells, but a diminished production of interleukin-2 (IL-2) by the tumor infiltrate. Also correlating with increasing tumor size was splenomegaly, a decline in the frequency, but not the absolute levels, of splenic CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ cells, and a diminished capacity to proliferate in response to concanavalin A and to be stimulated to secrete IL-2. The HNSCC tumors contributed to the immune decline since T cell functions were more depressed in the tumor bearers than in control mice receiving only cyclosporine treatment. These results demonstrate that human HNSCC tumor xenografts can grow in mice even with limited cyclosporine treatment, and that the survival of these xenografts may, in part, be due to a tumor-induced decline in select T cell functions.This study was supported by the Medical Research Service of the Department of Veterans Affairs, by grants CA-45080 and CA-48080 from the National Institutes of Health     

Immunomodulation of a prophylactic human papilloma virus vaccine to be effective therapeutically

A significant subset of head and neck carcinomas are infected with human papilloma virus; prophylactic vaccines can prevent such HPV+ cancers but are ineffective for invasive HPV+ cancers. We intend to make them therapeutic by means of systemic T regulatory cell depletion.