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Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to amplify and identify the presence of the DNA of human papillomavirus (HPV) types 6, 11, 16, and 18 in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of women with and without urogenital HPV infections. HPV DNA of various types was found in PBMCs of 13 of 25 (52.0%) patients with urogenital HPV infections and in none of the 19 control subjects who are free of urogenital HPV infections. The presence of HPV DNA in PBMCs may impair the immunologic functions of the lymphocytes and play a role in the epidemiology of HPV infections and the pathogenesis of HPV-induced diseases.

The majority of cervical cancers contain strong telomerase activity. Significant proportions of noncancerous CIN tissues also contain telomerase activity, although weaker than that in cervical cancer. It seems that there is a progressive increase of telomerase activity in association with an increased degree of cervical malignancy. These results seem to suggest that the expression of telomerase may play a crucial role in cervical cancer carcinogenesis.

The most likely source of the HPV-specific mRNA detected in the peripheral blood of cervical cancer patients with metastasis is the cervical cancer cells derived from or shed from the cervix. The presence of HPV E6 mRNAs in peripheral blood may be a sensitive indicator of circulating cervical cancer cells. If PCR positivity is proven to be able to predict disease progression reliably, these findings may have clinical applications in the treatment of cervical and many other cancers.

Epidemiological studies of the COVID-19 pandemic have revealed evidence of cardiac involvement and documented that myocardial injury and myocarditis are predictors of poor outcomes. Nonetheless, little is understood regarding SARS-CoV-2 tropism within the heart and whether cardiac complications result directly from myocardial infection. Here, we develop a human engineered heart tissue model and demonstrate that SARS-CoV-2 selectively infects cardiomyocytes. Viral infection is dependent on expression of angiotensin-I converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and endosomal cysteine proteases, suggesting an endosomal mechanism of cell entry. After infection with SARS-CoV-2, engineered tissues display typical features of myocarditis, including cardiomyocyte cell death, impaired cardiac contractility, and innate immune cell activation. Consistent with these findings, autopsy tissue obtained from individuals with COVID-19 myocarditis demonstrated cardiomyocyte infection, cell death, and macrophage-predominate immune cell infiltrate. These findings establish human cardiomyocyte tropism for SARS-CoV-2 and provide an experimental platform for interrogating and mitigating cardiac complications of COVID-19.

Since the discovery of breast cancer stem cells (BCSCs) more than 10 years ago, a body of exciting research has developed. The intrinsic properties of BCSCs, including self-renewal and the ability to give rise to heterogeneous progeny, make BCSCs a likely source of tumour initiation, heterogeneity, progression and metastasis. BCSCs are also inherently resistant to conventional therapies and are therefore thought to contribute to disease recurrence. In this review, we will focus on both the challenges and recent advances in the characterization of BCSCs with respect to phenotype, molecular signature and their role in the behaviour of the different molecular subtypes of breast cancer. Of most importance is our ability to translate our growing knowledge base into the development of targeted therapies with the goal of reducing adverse outcomes in breast cancer patients.