How can HPV prevent skin cancer? Nature gives the first piece of evidence.

Photo Source: Naturehas reported that skin squamous cell carcinoma (squamous cell carcinoma, SCC) is associated with beta-HPV, while patients whose immune system is inhibited by disease or drug therapy have a significantly higher risk of developing the tumorDr Shadmehr Demehri, who led the study, and colleagues said: "While several studies have attempted to show a link between HPV infection and SCC, none of the studies have shown that HPV does contribute to the development of these common skin cancers"On the contrary, by studying experimental models and tissue samples of human skin cancer, they found that the "symbiotic" papillomavirus, a low-risk form of HPV that exists on most people's skin, not only does not promote SCC, but also appears to have an indirect protective effect against the cancer." DrShadmehr Demehri, Center for Cancer Immunology and Dermatology, Massachusetts General Hospital,Image captionThe researchers studied the effects of papillomavirus on skin cancer using the mouse papillomavirus infection model (mouse papillomavirus type 1, MmuPV1) and mouse chemical induction (dMBA-TPA, the drug that causes skin cancer) or UV-induced skin cancerfound that T-cell immunity caused by mmuPV1 infection in mice had an inhibitory effect on DMBA-TPA-induced skin cancer, and that the memory T-cells of mice immunized with MmuPV1 were transferred over-to-control mice with their own T-cell deficiencies, which also showed good anti-DMBA-TPA-induced skin cancercompared testT cells to control-free mice (Control T cells) after receiving MmuPV1 immunomemory T cellsAfter DMBA-TPA treatment, warts in immunized mice developed skin cancerImage captionthe same, similar phenomena can be observed in UV-induced mouse skin cancer modelsThe experimental results showed that the number and volume of tumors in mice infected with MmuPV1 decreased significantly compared with mice in the control group (uninfected MmuPV1)This suggests that MmuPV1 also helps mice to fight UV-induced skin cancerto prove whether beta-HPV has a similar protective effect on human skin, the researchers have further explored itUsing the beta-HPV RNA in situ hybridization experiment, they found that the expression of beta-HPV RNA in SCC samples was virtually non-existent compared to normal skin samples For patients who also have SCC, the beta-HPV in the immune response suppresses the tumor in the patient is less than the nearby normal tissue, and this is more obvious in patients with normal immune response immune suppression and immune normal patients with skin cancer and beta-HPV RNA in situ hybridization signals near normal tissue Photo Source: Nature In addition, the higher beta-HPV activity and load in immunosuppressive patients with skin cancer were significantly less associated with tissue-immersed CD8-T and CD103-CD8-TRM cells It is worth noting that E7 peptides from beta-HPV can activate CD8-T cells from the facial skin of healthy people compared to patients with normal immune function, immunosuppressive patients were significantly reduced in leaching skin cancer and T-cells and TRM cells adjacent to normal skin Photo Source: Nature These results show that beta-HPV can be effective in helping humans fight skin cancer, and that the mechanism may be that HPV recruits and activates CD8-T cells, thus playing an anti-cancer role "This is the first evidence that symbiotic viruses have beneficial effects on both experimental models and humans associated with cancer prevention," said Dr Shadmehr Demehri, The role of these symbiotic viruses is to induce immunity, thereby protecting patients from skin cancer concludes, this study is the first to reveal the role of symbiotic HPV in cancer development Studies have shown that mice with normal immune function of MmuPV1 infection sit back against chemical or UV radiation-induced skin cancer in the form of CD8-T cell dependence Therefore, a T-cell-based vaccine for symbiotic HPV may provide an innovative way to enhance this antiviral immunity in the skin and help prevent warts and skin cancer in high-risk populations in addition , enhanced immunity against HPV may further improve the immunotherapy effect of sCC with immunocheckpoint inhibitors Given the diversity of skin virus groups, it is critical to characterize the virus communities in the skin of people with normal immune function and immunosuppressive populations, and to determine the impact of these viruses on human health and disease Summary Areas: Skin Cancer Journal: Nature Highlights: For the first time, researchers at Harvard University and Massachusetts General Hospital in the United States have revealed that symbiotic HPV may help fight skin cancer by recruiting and activating CD8-T cells Vaccines for symbiotic HPV, T-cell-based may provide an innovative way to enhance this antiviral immunity in the skin and help prevent warts and skin cancer in high-risk populations related papers: strickley, J et al Immunity commensal papilloviruses protects s against skin cancer Nature (2019) https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-019-1719-9 Longo, D L., et al Update on keratinocyte carcinomas N Engl J Med (2018) DOI: 10.1056/NEJMra1708701 , J., et al Role of human papillomavirus in cutanus squamous cell carcinoma: a meta-analysis J Am Acad Dermatol (2014) DOI: 10.1016/j.jaad.2014.01.230 J Clin Med (2015) DOI: 10.3390/jcm4061229 References: 1 - Immune response against skin-dwelling viruses prevents (Source: Medical Press)