Human Papillomavirus Type 16 Disables the Increased Natural Killer Cells in Early Lesions of the Cervix

The mechanism for pathogenesis of human papillomavirus (HPV) in the cervix has been investigated intensively. However, detailed differences in the distribution and function of innate immune cells between high-risk HPV types, especially during the chronic inflammation phase, have not been described f...

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Main Authors: Jiexin Zhang, Shanshan Jin, Xiao Li, Lenan Liu, Lei Xi, Fang Wang, Shichang Zhang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2019-01-01
Series:Journal of Immunology Research
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2019/9182979
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author Jiexin Zhang
Shanshan Jin
Xiao Li
Lenan Liu
Lei Xi
Fang Wang
Shichang Zhang
author_facet Jiexin Zhang
Shanshan Jin
Xiao Li
Lenan Liu
Lei Xi
Fang Wang
Shichang Zhang
author_sort Jiexin Zhang
collection DOAJ
description The mechanism for pathogenesis of human papillomavirus (HPV) in the cervix has been investigated intensively. However, detailed differences in the distribution and function of innate immune cells between high-risk HPV types, especially during the chronic inflammation phase, have not been described fully. In this study, histologic pathology results of 245 women with HPV type 16 only (HPV16+) or type 18 only (HPV18+) were analyzed retrospectively from January 2015 to November 2016. More severe lesions of the cervix were observed in HPV16+ women compared with those in HPV18+ women. In total, 212 cervical brush specimens were collected from women suffering from chronic inflammation, HPV16+, or HPV18+ from December 2016 to December 2018. Flow cytometry analysis showed that abundant NK cells along with aberrant Treg cells were found in the HPV16-infected cervix. Quantitative real-time PCR demonstrated that higher expression levels of IFN-γ but muted IL-2 and KLRG-1 expression was detected in the cervix of patients with HPV16+ compared to HPV18+, which were further confirmed using 20 paraffin sections of cervical conization tissue. The ex vivo cytotoxicity experiment showed that the cytotoxicity of NK cells was significantly decreased in the cervix of HPV16+ patients compared with that of HPV18+ patients. Collectively, our results suggested that HPV16 disables the increased NK cells in the early lesion of the cervix, indicating that the local immune system of the cervix is hyporesponsive to HPV16 infection and this may explain its bias for malignant transformation.
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spelling doaj-art-c7d6c0fbd0b6484a8867e1e9a82a84802025-08-20T02:19:44ZengWileyJournal of Immunology Research2314-88612314-71562019-01-01201910.1155/2019/91829799182979Human Papillomavirus Type 16 Disables the Increased Natural Killer Cells in Early Lesions of the CervixJiexin Zhang0Shanshan Jin1Xiao Li2Lenan Liu3Lei Xi4Fang Wang5Shichang Zhang6Department of Laboratory Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, 210029 Nanjing, ChinaDepartment of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, 210029 Nanjing, ChinaDepartment of Pathology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, 210029 Nanjing, ChinaDepartment of Obstetrics, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, 210029 Nanjing, ChinaDepartment of Pathology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, 210029 Nanjing, ChinaDepartment of Laboratory Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, 210029 Nanjing, ChinaDepartment of Laboratory Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, 210029 Nanjing, ChinaThe mechanism for pathogenesis of human papillomavirus (HPV) in the cervix has been investigated intensively. However, detailed differences in the distribution and function of innate immune cells between high-risk HPV types, especially during the chronic inflammation phase, have not been described fully. In this study, histologic pathology results of 245 women with HPV type 16 only (HPV16+) or type 18 only (HPV18+) were analyzed retrospectively from January 2015 to November 2016. More severe lesions of the cervix were observed in HPV16+ women compared with those in HPV18+ women. In total, 212 cervical brush specimens were collected from women suffering from chronic inflammation, HPV16+, or HPV18+ from December 2016 to December 2018. Flow cytometry analysis showed that abundant NK cells along with aberrant Treg cells were found in the HPV16-infected cervix. Quantitative real-time PCR demonstrated that higher expression levels of IFN-γ but muted IL-2 and KLRG-1 expression was detected in the cervix of patients with HPV16+ compared to HPV18+, which were further confirmed using 20 paraffin sections of cervical conization tissue. The ex vivo cytotoxicity experiment showed that the cytotoxicity of NK cells was significantly decreased in the cervix of HPV16+ patients compared with that of HPV18+ patients. Collectively, our results suggested that HPV16 disables the increased NK cells in the early lesion of the cervix, indicating that the local immune system of the cervix is hyporesponsive to HPV16 infection and this may explain its bias for malignant transformation.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2019/9182979
spellingShingle Jiexin Zhang
Shanshan Jin
Xiao Li
Lenan Liu
Lei Xi
Fang Wang
Shichang Zhang
Human Papillomavirus Type 16 Disables the Increased Natural Killer Cells in Early Lesions of the Cervix
Journal of Immunology Research
title Human Papillomavirus Type 16 Disables the Increased Natural Killer Cells in Early Lesions of the Cervix
title_full Human Papillomavirus Type 16 Disables the Increased Natural Killer Cells in Early Lesions of the Cervix
title_fullStr Human Papillomavirus Type 16 Disables the Increased Natural Killer Cells in Early Lesions of the Cervix
title_full_unstemmed Human Papillomavirus Type 16 Disables the Increased Natural Killer Cells in Early Lesions of the Cervix
title_short Human Papillomavirus Type 16 Disables the Increased Natural Killer Cells in Early Lesions of the Cervix
title_sort human papillomavirus type 16 disables the increased natural killer cells in early lesions of the cervix
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2019/9182979
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