Dados do Trabalho

Título

Human polyomavirus (BKPyV and JcPyV) and Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) in women living with HIV and infected with human papillomavirus (HPV) from the Tapajós region, Amazon, Brazil

Introdução

The human papillomavirus (HPV) is a sexually transmitted virus that infects the skin and mucous membranes and is related to several epithelial neoplasms, such as cervical cancer. Some studies report that the coinfection of HPV with human polyomavirus (HPyV) BK (BKPyV) and JC (JCPyV), and the Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) can increase the replication and persistence of HPV infection and accelerate the progression of cancer. Polyomaviruses infect epithelial cells and share similar structural and functional characteristics with papillomaviruses. Both have a circular, non-enveloped, double-stranded DNA genome. During coinfection, polyomavirus may increase the oncogenic properties of HPV. EBV is an oncovirus belonging to the Herpesviridae family, responsible for infectious mononucleosis and prevalent in about 90% of the world's adult population. Studies report that the ability of EBV to infect epithelial cells is an important cofactor for the development of cervical carcinoma.

Objetivo(s)

This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of human polyomaviruses (BKPyV and JCPyV) and EBV in HIV-infected women with HPV from the Tapajós region, Amazon, Brazil.

Material e Métodos

In total, 37 women were included, with two sample types being obtained: anal and cervical scrapings. Overall, 26 women had both sample types, four women had anal scrapings and seven cervical scrapings. All samples were extracted and tested for BKPyV and JCPyV, and EBV by qPCR.

Resultados e Conclusão

The frequency of BKPyV was 5.4% (2/37) in the population, being detected in one of the anal scraping and one cervical scraping. JCPyV was found in 18.9% (7/37) of the women, being 12.1% (4/33) of the cervical scraping and 10.0% (3/30) of the anal scraping samples. EBV was detected in 35.1% (13/37) of the women included in the study, corresponding to 33.3% (10/30) of anal scraping and 21.2% (7/33) of cervical scraping. Studies show that HPV/EBV coinfection is related to a greater percentage of HPV genome integration, a greater expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines, and a reduction in tumor suppressor proteins, which may facilitate the appearance of tumors. Therefore, the investigation of coinfections by various oncoviruses, especially HPV/EBV/polyomavirus, is of great importance both for monitoring the emergence of cancer, due to being a significant risk factor, and for a better understanding of the natural history.

Palavras-chave

Human papillomavirus; human polyomavirus; BKPyV and JCPyV; Epstein-Barr virus; cancer