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The Cigarette Smoke Carcinogen Benzo[ a ]pyrene Enhances Human Papillomavirus Synthesis

2007; American Society for Microbiology; Volume: 82; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1128/jvi.01813-07

1098-5514

Samina Alam, Michael J. Conway, Horng-Shen Chen, Craig Meyers,

Cervical Cancer and HPV Research

ABSTRACT Epidemiological studies suggest that cigarette smoke carcinogens are cofactors which synergize with human papillomavirus (HPV) to increase the risk of cervical cancer progression. Benzo[ a ]pyrene (B a P), a major carcinogen in cigarette smoke, is detected in the cervical mucus and may interact with HPV. Exposure of cervical cells to high concentrations of B a P resulted in a 10-fold increase in HPV type 31 (HPV31) viral titers, whereas treatment with low concentrations of B a P resulted in an increased number of HPV genome copies but not an increase in virion morphogenesis. B a P exposure also increased HPV16 and HPV18 viral titers. Overall, B a P modulation of the HPV life cycle could potentially enhance viral persistence, host tissue carcinogenesis, and permissiveness for cancer progression.