Antimicrobial peptides are effectors of innate immunity, providing their hosts with rapid non-specific defence against parasitic invaders. In this report, the effects are assessed of two well-characterized antimicrobial amphipathic peptides (melittin and cecropin) on human immunodeficiency virus 1 (HIV-1) replication and gene expression in acutely infected cells at subtoxic concentrations. Production of infectious, cell-free virus was inhibited in a dosedependent manner, with ID 50 values in the range 0n9-1n5 µM for melittin and 2-3 µM for cecropin. Analysis of the effect of melittin on cell-associated

An important event in the development of cervical squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is deregulated expression of high-risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV) oncogenes, most commonly related to viral integration into host DNA. Mechanisms of development of the ∼15% of SCCs that contain extrachromosomal (episomal) HR-HPV are poorly understood due to limited longitudinal data. We therefore used the W12 model to study mechanisms of cervical carcinogenesis associated with episomal HPV16. In vitro progression of W12 normally occurs through selection of cells containing integrated HPV16. However, in one long-term culture, keratinocytes developed a selective growth advantage and invasive phenotype while retaining HPV16 episomes at increased copy number in the absence of transcriptionally active integrants. Longitudinal investigations revealed similarities between the episome-and integrant-associated routes of neoplastic progression. Most notable were dynamic changes in viral early gene expression in episome-retaining cells, consistent with continually changing selective pressures. An early increase in viral transcription preceded elevated episome copy number and was followed by a reduction to near baseline after the development of invasiveness. Episomal transcriptional deregulation did not require selection of a specific sequence variant of the HPV16 upstream regulatory region, although increased levels of acetylated histone H4 around the late promoter implicated a role for altered chromatin structure. Interestingly, invasive episome-retaining cells showed high levels of HPV16 E2/ E6 proteins (despite decreased transcript levels) and reduced expression of IFN-stimulated genes, adaptations that support viral persistence and cell survival. Our findings suggest a unified working model for events important in cervical neoplastic progression regardless of HR-HPV physical state. Cancer Res; 70(10); 4081-91.

As the high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) integrants seen in anogenital carcinomas represent the end-point of a clonal selection process, we used the W12 model to study the naturally occurring integration events that exist in HPV16-infected cervical keratinocytes before integrant selection. We performed limiting dilution cloning to identify integrants present in cells that also maintain episomes. Such integrants arise in a natural context and exist in a noncompetitive environment, as they are transcriptionally repressed by episome-derived E2. We found that integration can occur at any time during episome maintenance, providing biological support for epidemiologic observations that persistent HPV infection is a major risk factor in cervical carcinogenesis. Of 24 different integration sites isolated from a single nonclonal population of W12, 12 (50%) occurred within chromosome bands containing a common fragile site (CFS), similar to observations for selected integrants in vivo. This suggests that such regions represent relatively accessible sites for insertion of foreign DNA, rather than conferring a selective advantage when disrupted. Interestingly, however, integrants and CFSs did not accurately colocalize. We further observed that local DNA rearrangements occur frequently and rapidly after the integration event. The majority of integrants were in chromosome bands containing a cancer-associated coding gene or microRNA, indicating that integration occurs commonly in these regions, regardless of selective pressure. The cancer-associated genes were generally a considerable distance from the integration site, and there was no evidence for altered expression of nine strong candidate genes. These latter observations do not support an important role for HPV16 integration in causing insertional mutagenesis. [Cancer Res 2008;68(20):8249-59]

This study was designed to identify significant differences in gene expression profiles of human papillomavirus (HPV)‐positive and HPV‐negative oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinomas (OPSCC) and to better understand the functional and biological effects of HPV infection in the premalignant pathway. Twenty‐four consecutive patients with locally advanced primary OPSCC were included in a prospective clinical trial. Fresh tissue samples (tumor vs. matched normal epithelium) were subjected to whole transcriptome analysis and the results validated on the same cohort with RT–quantitative real‐time PCR. In a separate retrospective cohort of 27 OPSCC patients, laser capture microdissection of formalin‐fixed, paraffin‐embedded tissue allowed RNA extraction from adjacent regions of normal epithelium, carcinoma in situ (premalignant) and invasive SCC tissue. The majority of patients showed evidence of high‐risk HPV16 positivity (80.4%). Predictable fold changes of RNA expression in HPV‐associated disease included multiple transcripts within the p53 oncogenic pathway (e.g. CDKN2A/CCND1). Other candidate transcripts found to have altered levels of expression in this study have not previously been established (SFRP1, CRCT1, DLG2, SYCP2, and CRNN). Of these, SYCP2 showed the most consistent fold change from baseline in premalignant tissue; aberrant expression of this protein may contribute to genetic instability during HPV‐associated cancer development. If further corroborated, this data may contribute to the development of a non‐invasive screening tool. This study is registered with the UK Clinical Research Network (ref.: 11945).

For many oncogenes, increased expression resulting from copy number gain confers a selective advantage to cells that consequently make up the tumour bulk. To identify oncogenes of potential biological significance in cervical squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), 36 primary samples and ten cell lines were screened by array comparative genomic hybridization (CGH). The most commonly occurring regions of copy number gain that also showed amplification were 5p15.2-14.3 (59%), 5p13.3 (65%), and 5p13.2-13.1 (63%). Gene copy numbers were significantly associated with expression levels for three candidate oncogenes at these loci: OSMR (oncostatin M receptor) (p=0.03), PDZK3 (PDZ domain containing protein 3) (p=0.04), and TRIO (triple functional domain) (p=0.03). Further examination by fluorescence in situ hybridization on a tissue microarray of 110 primary cervical SCC samples revealed copy number gain frequencies of 60.9%, 57.3%, and 54.5% for OSMR, PDZK3, and TRIO, respectively, with OSMR adversely influencing overall patient survival independently of tumour stage (p=0.046). By array CGH, copy number gain of OSMR was not seen in any of 40 microdissected precursor cervical squamous intraepithelial lesions (SILs). Moreover, global mRNA expression analysis, using Affymetrix U133A 2.0 Arrays, showed no overexpression of OSMR in SILs, suggesting that OSMR gain and overexpression are relatively late steps in cervical carcinogenesis. In the cervical SCC cell lines CaSki and SW756, exogenous OSM activated downstream-signalling elements of OSMR including STAT3, p44/42 MAPK, and S6 ribosomal protein, and induced transcription of the angiogenic factor VEGF, effects that were reduced by OSMR depletion using RNA interference. We conclude that copy number gain of OSMR is frequently found in cervical SCC and is associated with adverse clinical outcome. As well as being a potential prognostic marker, OSMR is a candidate cell surface therapeutic target.

Oncostatin M receptor (OSMR) shows frequent copy number gain and overexpression in advanced cervical squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). We used cell-based in vitro assays, RNA interference, and integrative gene expression profiling to investigate the functional significance of this observation. CaSki and SW756 were selected as representative cervical SCC cells that overexpressed OSMR, and ME180 and MS751 as cells that did not. The STAT-dependent pro-angiogenic factors VEGF-A and ID1 were rapidly induced by OSM in CaSki/SW756 but not in ME180/MS751. However, rapid induction did occur in MS751 following forced OSMR overexpression, while depleting OSMR in CaSki abrogated VEGF-A expression. Conditioned medium from both CaSki and SW756 stimulated endothelial tube formation in vitro, effects that were inhibited by depleting OSMR in the SCC cells. For both CaSki and SW756, migration in a wound healing assay and invasion through Matrigel were stimulated by OSM and consistently inhibited by OSMR depletion. The phenotype was rescued by transfection with OSMR containing a silent mutation that provided specific siRNA resistance. Overall, there was a positive correlation between OSMR levels and invasiveness. We used gene expression profiling to identify genes induced by OSM in CaSki/SW756 but not in ME180/MS751. The most prominent gene ontology category groups for the differentially expressed genes were cell motility/invasion, angiogenesis, signal transduction, and apoptosis. We also profiled 23 cervical SCC samples, identifying genes that were differentially expressed in cases with OSMR overexpression versus those without. Integration of the datasets identified 15 genes that showed consistent differential expression in association with OSMR levels in vitro and in vivo. We conclude that OSMR overexpression in cervical SCC cells provides increased sensitivity to OSM, which induces pro-malignant changes. OSMR is a potential prognostic and therapeutic target in cervical SCC. The genes that mediate OSM:OSMR effects will be valuable indicators of the effectiveness of antibody blockade in pre-clinical systems.

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BackgroundHuman papillomavirus (HPV) is well known as the major etiological agent for ano-genital cancer. In contrast to cervical cancer, anal cancer is uncommon, but is increasing steadily in the community over the last few decades. However, it has undergone an exponential rise in the men who have sex with men (MSM) and HIV + groups. HIV + MSM in particular, have anal cancer incidences about three times that of the highest worldwide reported cervical cancer incidences.DiscussionThere has therefore traditionally been a lack of data from studies focused on heterosexual men and non-HIV + women. There is also less evidence reporting on the putative precursor lesion to anal cancer (AIN – anal intraepithelial neoplasia), when compared to cervical cancer and CIN (cervical intraepithelial neoplasia). This review summarises the available biological and epidemiological evidence for HPV in the anal site and the pathogenesis of AIN and anal cancer amongst traditionally non-high risk groups.SummaryThere is strong evidence to conclude that high-grade AIN is a precursor to anal cancer, and some data on the progression of AIN to invasive cancer.