Molecular epidemiology and phylogenetic analysis of human papillomavirus infection in women with cervical lesions and cancer from the coastal region of Ecuador

Pharmacodynamics, Network Pharmacology, and Pharmacokinetics of Chinese Medicine Formula 9002A in the Treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a common and serious neurodegenerative disease in the elderly; however, the treatment of AD is still lacking of rational drugs. In this paper, the active constituents and targets of the self-developed Chinese medicine Formula 9002A in the treatment of AD were investigated from three aspects: pharmacodynamics based on cell and animal experiments, network pharmacology analysis, and pharmacokinetic analysis. A total of 124 compounds were screened in Formula 9002A, and four constituents including salidroside, gastrodin, niacinamide, and umbelliferone were screened as potential active components for the treatment of AD by network pharmacology. Among them, salidroside and gastrodin showed higher relevance with AD targets, such as ESR1 and AR. The pharmacokinetic study showed that they could be absorbed and identified in plasma; the half-life and mean residence times of salidroside and gastrodin in plasma were nearly increased 2-fold by the administration of Formula 9002A compared with those by the administration of a monomer, indicating the extended action time of active compounds in vivo. Formula 9002A exerted the efficacy in the treatment of AD mainly by regulating APP, GSK3β, ESR1, and AR targets based on the anti-β-amyloid protein deposition, anti-oxidation and anti-apoptosis pathways. Two genes enriched in Alzheimer’s disease pathway, APP and GSK3β, were further validated. The experiments also demonstrated that Formula 9002A could downregulate APP and GSK3β protein expression in the model mice brain and improved their cognitive ability. In summary, Formula 9002A has the characteristics of multiple targets and multiple pathways in the treatment of AD, and salidroside and gastrodin might be the main active constituents, which could provide a foundation for further research and application.

Prevalence and Distribution of Human Papillomavirus Genotypes (1997-2019) and Their Association With Cervical Cancer and Precursor Lesions in Women From Southern Mexico

Background

Cervical cancer (CC) is the fourth most common malignancy of the female genital tract. Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is the main cause of precancerous lesions and CC cases worldwide

Objective

We assessed the prevalence and distribution of HPV types and their association with precancerous lesions and CC.

Methods

HPV genotypes were detected by 3 methods depending on the year of in which the sample was analyzed: MY09/11 RFLPs (1997 to 2010), GP5+/6+ primer systems (2005 to 2010) and INNO-LiPA HPV Genotyping Extra (2010 to 2019) in cervical samples (No-IL: 4445; LSIL: 2464; HSILs: 151 and CC: 253) from women from southern Mexico.

Results

The overall HPV prevalence was 54.17%, and hpv-16 was the most common genotype. In single infection, the high-risk HPV genotypes (group 1) were associated with squamous intraepitelial lesions (LSIL: HPV–39 (OR = 10.58, 95% CI 4.09–27.36, P < .001); HSIL: HPV-31 (OR = 14.76, 95% CI 6.56–33.20, P < .001); and CC: HPV-16 (OR = 25.01, 95% CI 18.83–33.21, P < .001). In multiple infections, the HPV genotypes (HPV-16 and HPV-18) were also associated with a high risk of lesions [LSIL: HPV-18 (OR = 3.45; 95% CI 1.36–8.91; P = .009); HSIL: HPV-18 (OR = 5.12; 95% CI 1.21–21.68; P = .026); and CC: HPV-16 (OR = 3.03; 95% CI 1.72–5.32; P < .001)] compared to single infection. In the analysis adjusted for age, giving birth, and cigarette smoking, a significant increase in the risk of LSIL, HSIL, and CC was maintained.

Conclusions

This study provides current data on the prevalence and distribution of HPV genotypes in women from southern Mexico, which could serve as a valuable reference to guide nationwide CC screening programs and provide scientific evidence that could be useful for vaccine development efforts. Likewise, it was identified that infection with carcinogenic HPV genotypes is an independent risk factor for LSIL, HSIL, and CC.

Prevalence of Human papillomavirus (HPV) genotypes in Ecuadorian women

Infection with the human papillomaviruses (HPV) is now well-established as the leading cause in the development of cancer of the uterine cervix. HPV 16 and 18 are described as the most prevalent high-risk genotypes, involving about 70% of registered cervical cancer cases worldwide. Among women in the Ecuadorian population, cervical cancer is the second most frequent malignancy, and about 75% of active sexual women will be infected with at least one type of HPV genotypes throughout their lives. In the present investigation, the prevalence of HPV genotypes was determined from samples collected at Society for the Fight Against Cancer (SOLCA) in Ecuadorian women between 18 to 78 years. The participants underwent a Pap test, biopsy, cervical and vaginal swab for HPV detection and genotype identification. The results show the high prevalence index of HPV genotype 16 and 58, with a higher burden from the second to the fourth decade of life.

Infección por Virus del Papiloma Humano y citología cérvico-vaginal en mujeres indígenas del Cañar, Ecuador

There are few studies on the circulation of Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) in indigenous Ecuadorian women. The aim of the study is to determine the circulation of HPV and identify cytological alterations in cervical samples of indigenous Ecuadorian women and to define the behavior of some socio-demographic and clinical-epidemiological variables. An analytical cross-sectional study was done between July 2017 and September 2018 to determine the presence of cytological alterations and HPV infection in 100 indigenous women between 15 and 55 years of age, residing in Cañar, Ecuador. The association between socio-demographic and clinical-epidemiological variables with viral infection was investigated. Was obtained a 98% of negative cytology for malignancy and 2% of cervical lesions. Cases with high-grade lesions were not diagnosed. In general, a 34% (34/100) tested was positive for HPV, predominating oncogenic genotypes. HPV 31 was the most frequent in 41.2% (14/34) of cases followed by HPV 16 in 20.6% (7/34). Women between 20 and 30 years of age were five times more likely to be infected with HPV (44.1%, 15/34). The frequency of infection was significantly higher in single women and in those who reported having 2 to 3 births. Infection with HPV 16 was associated with the use of hormonal contraceptives, in 57.1% (4/7) of the cases; p = 0.005, RP = 12.44 IC95% (2.40-64.62). The high prevalence of oncogenic HPV infection indicates the need to incorporate this indigenous population into early detection programs for cervical cancer.

Frequency of rare and multi viral high-risk HPV types infection in cervical high grade squamous intraepithelial lesions in a non-native dominant middle eastern country: a polymerase chain reaction-based pilot study

BACKGROUND

The incidence of abnormal cervical smears in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is 3.6%. Data regarding specific high-risk HPV (hrHPV) genotypes are insufficient. Identification of hrHPV subtypes is essential to allow formulating effective vaccination strategies.

METHODS

A total of 75 archival cervical cone biopsies with HSIL or higher lesions (2012-2016) were retrieved from a tertiary hospital, including HSIL (n = 70), adenocarcinoma in-situ (n = 1) and squamous cell carcinoma (n = 4). Five tissue sections (10-μ-thick each) were cut and DNA extracted using the QIAamp DNA FFPE Tissue Kit. GenomeMeTM's GeneNavTM HPV One qPCR Kit was used for specific detection of HPV 16 and 18; and non-16/18 samples were typed by GenomeMeTM's GeneNavTM HPV Genotyping qPCR Kit.

RESULTS

Median age was 34 years (range 19-58) with 70% UAE Nationals. hrHPV detected were 16, 18, 31, 33, 35, 39, 45, 51, 52, 58, 59, 66 & 68. hrHPV testing was negative in 12% of cases. Most common types were HPV 16 (49%), HPV 31 (20%) and HPV 18 (6.6%). hrHPV 16 and/or 18 represented 56% and rare subtypes 32%. Co-infection was present in 16%. Eight cases had two-viral subtype infections and 4 cases had 3 subtype infections. Multi-viral HPV infection was limited to hrHPV 16, 18, 31 & 33 subtypes.

CONCLUSIONS

Infection by non HPV 16/18 is fairly common. A higher than expected incidence of rare subtype (20% hrHPV31) and multi-viral hrHPV (16%) were detected. This finding stresses the importance of this pilot study as currently only quadravalent vaccine is offered to control the HPV infection in the UAE population.

Does 100% Rapid Review Improve Cervical Cancer Screening?

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this work was to evaluate 100% rapid review (100% RR) as a useful tool to detect false negative (FN) results.

STUDY DESIGN

A sample of 8,677 swabs was investigated; the unsatisfactory and negative results were referred to 100% RR, concordant results were taken as the final diagnosis, while the discordant results were debated in a consensus meeting to reach a conclusion. The positive results were examined by 2 cytologists. The data were entered into SAS statistical software, and the agreement of the 100% RR results with the final diagnosis was tested with the weighted kappa statistic.

RESULTS

There was a significant increase in unsatisfactory results from 348 to 1,927, and of positive results from 174 to 349. On the other hand, there was a substantial decrease in negative results from 8,155 to 6,401. Assessing the relative risk of FN results in smears that were not referred to quality control (100% RR) revealed the following results: atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASC-US), 2.93; low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (LSIL), 2.72; high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion/atypical squamous cells - cannot exclude HSIL (HSIL/ASC-H), 2.25. Evaluating by age group, a higher risk for LSIL (4.90) and ASC-US (3.85) was observed in patients aged under 25 years, whereas patients between 25 and 64 years and those over 64 years presented a higher risk for HSIL and ASC-H: 2.46 and 2.75, respectively.

CONCLUSION

100% RR is an effective screening tool for FN results in countries where molecular tests for DNA-HPV and prophylactic vaccines are not available in cervical cancer screening programs.