Project description:The cervical microbiota is essential in female sexual health, and its altered states seem to have a central role in the dynamic of high-risk papillomavirus (hrHPV) infections. This study aimed to evaluate the variation in bacterial communities' compositions according to hrHPV. We collected two samples per woman, with a difference of 12 ± 1 months between them, and performed a follow-up on 66 of these women. The viral load (VL) of the hrHPV was estimated by quantitative PCR (qPCR), then it was normalized (using the HMBS gene as reference) and transformed to the Log10 scale to facilitate the interpretation. The VL was categorized as Negative, without hrHPV copies; Low, less than 100 hrHPV copies; Medium, between 100 to 102 hrHPV copies; and High, >102 hrHPV copies. The microbiota composition was described through the Illumina Novaseq PE250 platform. The diversity analyses revealed changes regarding the hrHPV VL, where women with low VL (<100 hrHPV copies) presented high diversity. The community state type (CST) IV was the most common. However, in women with high VL, a lower association with Lactobacillus depletion was found. Lactobacillus gallinarum and L. iners were the most abundant species in women with high VL, whereas women with low VL had a 6.06 greater probability of exhibiting Lactobacillus dominance. We identified conspicuous differences in the abundance of 78 bacterial genera between women with low and high VL, where 26 were depleted (e.g., Gardnerella) and 52 increased (e.g., Mycoplasma). A multilevel mixed-effects linear regression showed changes in the diversity due to the interaction between the measurement time and the VL, with a decrease in diversity in the second follow-up in women with low VL (Coeff. = 0.47), whereas the women with medium VL displayed an increase in diversity (Coeff. = 0.58). Here, we report for the first time that the cervical microbiota is influenced by the number of copies of hrHPV, where a decrease in the abundance of Lactobacillus, greater diversity, and enrichment of bacterial taxa is relevant in women with low VL.
Project description:Cervical cancer ranks as the first in cancer mortality among women of low-middle income countries, where 80% of the 570,000 cases and 311,000 worldwide deaths estimated for 2018 occurred (Ferlay et al. 2018 ). Persistent infections with high-risk HPV (hrHPV) genotypes can lead to high-grade cervical intraepithelial (CIN) grade 2 (CIN2) or higher, (CIN2+), if untreated, a high percentage of these lesions may progress to cancer. Despite its high sensitivity, the hrHPV test has low specificity to detect CIN2+ lesions given that a high percentage of women (80 %) infected with hrHPV genotypes will resolve the infection spontaneously. microRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs and their differential expression patterns seen to be associated with cervical intraepithelial lesions. Our work aimed to identify miRNAs differentially expressed in CIN2+ respect with <CIN1 and to evaluate their potential use as biomarkers to distinguish low- from high-grade lesions within hrHPV positive women. For our discovery set we used small RNA sequencing (miRNA-seq) to compare the miRNA expression patterns in 20 Formalin-Fixed Paraffin-Embedded (FFPE) tissues from hrHPV-positive women from Medellin, Colombia presenting low- (n=10) and high-grade lesions (n=10). Top five miRNAs presenting high fold change and low coefficient of variation were used validated by RT-PCR in our validation set composed 210 age-matched independent hrHPV-positive FFPE tissues, and an in-silico approach was used to understand the function of the differentially expressed miRNAs in the context of HPV infection.
Project description:Cervical cancer (CC) remains a significant public health issue in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), especially in Western sub-Saharan Africa and Nigeria. While global CC incidence and mortality have declined, these regions continue to face high rates due to inadequate screening and the high prevalence of HIV, which increases CC risk by promoting persistent HPV infections. This study aimed to identify DNA methylation (DNAm) biomarkers for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) and CC in HIV-positive Nigerian women and to assess their potential for clinical risk prediction. From 2018 to 2020, 538 participants were recruited from Nigerian tertiary hospitals. Cervical tissue samples were analyzed for DNAm using the Infinium MethylationEPIC BeadChip array, and HPV genotyping was conducted via next-generation sequencing. An epigenome-wide association study revealed 24 significant DNAm biomarkers associated with CIN and CC. These biomarkers showed hypermethylation in tumor suppressor genes (e.g., PRMD8), hypomethylation in oncogenes (e.g., MIR520H), and aberrant methylation in genes related to HIV/HPV infection and oncogenesis (e.g., GNB5, LMO4, FOXK2, NMT1). A machine learning-based DNAm classifier achieved 92.9% sensitivity and 88.6% specificity in predicting CC risk, with higher risk observed in adjacent normal cervical samples from CIN/CC patients and HIV/HPV co-infected women. DNAm biomarkers offer a promising approach to enhancing CC screening and early detection, particularly for HIV-positive women in LMICs. The DNAm-based model developed in this study shows potential for more accurate CC risk stratification, highlighting the need for further optimization, validation, and implementation in low-resource settings.
Project description:Our previous study implied a correlation of inhibitors of differentiation-1 (Id-1) to cervical cancer development. However, how Id-1 contributes to cervical carcinogenesis is unknown. In the present study, we investigated the role of Id-1 in transforming cervical cells with an in vitro transformation model. The human papillomavirus (HPV) immortalized cervical epithelial cells (H8) were successfully transformed by exposure to the carcinogen N-nitrosopyrrolidine (NPYR). The results showed that both Id-1 RNA and protein expression were significantly increased in transformed H8 cells, suggesting a possible role of Id-1 in cervical cell transformation. Ectopic expression of Id-1 in H8 cells potentiated NPYR-induced cell transformation. In contrast, silencing of Id-1 suppressed NPYR-induced H8 cell transformation. A cDNA microarray assay was performed, which identified suggested potential cell signaling pathways for NPYR-induced H8 cell transformation. The results suggest that Id-1 plays an oncogenic role in the cervix, which sheds light on cervical cancer development and implies potential target for cervical cancer prevention and therapy.
Project description:To investigate the differences in mRNA profiles specially related to metabolism in cervical cancer, 5 primary cervical cancer tissues and 6 normal cervical tissues were collected. The differential expression of metabolism-associated-mRNA was verified using qRT-PCR.
Project description:Integration of human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA into the host genome is a critical aetiological event in the progression from normal cervix to intraepithelial neoplasm, and finally to invasive cervical cancer. In this study, we want to know how HPV DNA physical status relates to treatment outcome for cervical carcinomas. Cervical cancer samples were compared with normal sample. And also, we divided 39 cervical cancer patients into four groups according to HPV DNA physical status and investigated differentially expressed gene profiles in these groups using Agilent two-color experiment.
Project description:ObjectiveTo evaluate the changes of vaginal microbiota during cervical carcinogenesis in women with high-risk human papillomavirus infection.Materials and methodsVaginal microbiota was analyzed using next-generation sequencing in women with normal, cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN), or cervical cancer.ResultsA marked decrease of Lactobacillus crispatus was found in the CIN/cancer groups compared with that in the normal group. The diversity of microorganisms increased in patients with CIN or cervical cancer with HPV infection. Atopobium vaginae (OR 4.33, 95% CI 1.15-16.32), Dialister invisus (OR 4.89, 95% CI 1.20-19.94), Finegoldia magna (OR 6.00, 95% CI 1.08-33.27), Gardnerella vaginalis (OR 7.43, 95% CI 1.78-31.04), Prevotella buccalis (OR 11.00, 95% CI 2.00-60.57), and Prevotella timonensis (OR 6.00, 95% CI 1.46-24.69) were significantly associated with the risk of CIN 2/3 or cervical cancer.ConclusionWomen with the CIN and cervical cancer showed a high diversity in vaginal microbiota. Depletion of Lactobacillus crispatus and increased abundance of anaerobic bacteria were detected in women with cervical disease.
Project description:Integration of human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA into the host genome is a critical aetiological event in the progression from normal cervix to intraepithelial neoplasm, and finally to invasive cervical cancer. In this study, we want to know how HPV DNA physical status relates to treatment outcome for cervical carcinomas.
Project description:High-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN2/3) represents a heterogeneous disease both with respect to clinical behaviour and chromosomal aberrations detected. We hypothesized that the extent of chromosomal aberrations reflects the duration of their existence. Chromosomal profiles were determined of CIN3 of women with a known 5 year history of high-risk human papillomavirus virus (hrHPV) infection, in which duration of prior hrHPV infection was considered a proxy for duration of CIN3 existence. Eleven women had a <5 year preceding hrHPV infection (CIN3<5yrPHI) and 24 had a PHI lasting ≥5 years (CIN3≥5yrPHI). For comparison, 6 CIN3 adjacent to squamous cell carcinomas (CIN3-SCC), the corresponding SCCs, and 6 CIN1 were included. Unsupervised hierarchical clustering analysis of the chromosomal profiles revealed two clusters. One was characterized by a low number of chromosomal aberrations and included all CIN1, 81.8% of CIN3<5yrPHI and 33.3% of CIN3≥5yrPHI. Samples in the second cluster, displaying multiple aberrations, included 18.2% of CIN3<5yrPHI, 66.7% CIN3≥5yrPHI, all except one CIN3-SCC and all SCCs. The number of genomic aberrations increased according to lesion grade and also with longer duration of PHI. The increase in aberrations in CIN3≥5yrPHI compared to <5yrPHI was highly significant (p=0.001), suggesting that CIN3≥5yrPHI represent more severe lesions. A longer duration of preceding hrHPV infection is associated with an increased number of chromosomal aberrations. Hence, CIN3 with a longer duration of existence are likely more prone to have an increased short-term risk of cervical cancer.