Human papillomavirus infection and seroprevalence among female university students in Mexico.

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is one of the most common causes of sexually transmitted diseases, and the main etiology of cervical cancer. This study was aimed to assess type-specific cervical HPV prevalence and their association with HPV-specific antibodies in a cohort of female university students. HPV genotyping was performed by amplifying and sequencing a fragment of the L1 protein. A BLAST search was performed to identify HPV types. HPV-specific IgG antibodies were measured by ELISA in serum samples. A total of 129 women participated, with an average age of 21.75 years. The prevalence of vaginal HPV infection was 74.42%. The most predominant high-risk HPV types were 18 (13.95%), 31 (10.85%), and 16 (9.3%). We found that early age at coitarche and a higher number of sexual partners were significantly associated with a high prevalence of HPV infection. In addition to sexual behavior, we observed that the presence of serum-specific IgG antibodies against HPV can impact the prevalence of the virus. Seropositivity to HPV-16 and HPV-18 was associated with a lower prevalence of HPV-16, but not for other HPV types. Of note, there was a lower proportion of HPV-specific seropositivity in women who had the presence of the same HPV type in a cervical specimen, suggesting an immunoregulatory mechanism associated with the viral infection. In conclusion, the prevalence of HPV in university women was higher than expected and it was associated with early age of sexual debut, an increasing number of sexual partners, and a low proportion of HPV seropositivity.

Flavonoids Present in Propolis in the Battle against Photoaging and Psoriasis.

The skin is the main external organ. It protects against different types of potentially harmful agents, such as pathogens, or physical factors, such as radiation. Skin disorders are very diverse, and some of them lack adequate and accessible treatment. The photoaging of the skin is a problem of great relevance since it is related to the development of cancer, while psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory disease that causes scaly skin lesions and deterioration of the lifestyle of people affected. These diseases affect the patient's health and quality of life, so alternatives have been sought that improve the treatment for these diseases. This review focuses on describing the properties and benefits of flavonoids from propolis against these diseases. The information collected shows that the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of flavonoids play a crucial role in the control and regulation of the cellular and biochemical alterations caused by these diseases; moreover, flavones, flavonols, flavanones, flavan-3-ols, and isoflavones contained in different worldwide propolis samples are the types of flavonoids usually evaluated in both diseases. Therefore, the research carried out in the area of dermatology with bioactive compounds of different origins is of great relevance to developing preventive and therapeutic approaches.

Tumor-infiltrating regulatory T cells, CD8/Treg ratio, and cancer stem cells are correlated with lymph node metastasis in patients with early breast cancer.

BACKGROUND: Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes are an important component of the tumor microenvironment (TME) in breast cancer. They have been linked with tumor pathogenesis in advanced stages. However, little is known about their contribution in early phases. In this study, we analyzed the infiltration of leukocytes and cancer stem cells (CSC) in tumors from patients with early breast cancer. METHODS: Samples of blood and tumor tissue from 30 patients with breast cancer were collected, and the number of dendritic cells (DC), T cells, and CSC were analyzed by flow cytometry. RESULTS: Tumor-infiltrating CD4 and CD8 T cells expressed higher levels of cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated antigen 4 (CTLA-4) compared with peripheral T cells. Regulatory T cells (Treg) were enriched in tumors and overexpressed glucocorticoid-induced TNFR-related protein and CTLA-4. Tumor Treg had a positive correlation with the amount of myeloid DC (mDC) and disease progression. The CD8/Treg ratio was associated with lymph node metastasis and tumor stages. The main subset of DC in early breast tumors was mDC, while plasmacytoid DC were almost absent. CSC were present in most tumors with higher frequencies in patients with lymph node metastasis. CSC were also associated with the amount of tumor-infiltrating Treg. CONCLUSION: Early breast cancer has an inflammatory milieu characterized by mDC, Treg, and CSC infiltration. The frequencies of Treg, CSC and CD8/Treg ratio were associated with disease progression. The composition of leukocytes and the presence of CSC in early breast tumors should be considered for the development of new therapeutic approaches.

Human plasmacytoid dendritic cells acquire phagocytic capacity by TLR9 ligation in the presence of soluble factors produced by renal epithelial cells.

Plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) are antigen presenting cells specialized in viral recognition through Toll-like receptor (TLR)7 and TLR9, and produce vast amounts of interferon alpha upon ligation of these TLRs. We had previously demonstrated a strong influx of pDCs in the tubulointerstitium of renal biopsies at the time of acute rejection. However, the role of human pDCs in mediating acute or chronic allograft rejection remains elusive. pDCs are thought to have a limited capacity to ingest apoptotic cells, critical for inducing CD4+ T cell activation via indirect antigen presentation and subsequent activation of antibody producing B cells. Here we tested whether the function of pDCs is affected by their presence within the graft. Maturation and interferon alpha production by pDCs was enhanced when cells were activated in the presence of viable HK2 renal epithelial cells. Importantly, soluble factors produced by cytomegalovirus-infected (primary) epithelial or endothelial cells enhanced pDC activation and induced their capacity to phagocytose apoptotic cells. Phagocytosis was not induced by free virus or soluble factors from non-infected cells. Activated pDCs showed an enhanced CD4+ and CD8+ T cell allostimulatory capacity as well as a potent indirect alloantigen presentation. Granulocyte Macrophage-Colony Stimulating Factor is one of the soluble factors produced by renal epithelial cells that, combined with TLR9 ligation, induced this functional capacity. Thus, pDCs present in the rejecting allograft can contribute to alloimmunity and potentially act as important orchestrators in the manifestation of acute and chronic rejection.

[Main immunoregulatory mechanisms that favor breast cancer development]. / Principales mecanismos inmunorreguladores que favorecen el desarrollo del cáncer de mama.

Even after the improvements made in recent years in early diagnosis and treatments, breast cancer is still the most common cancer and the leading cause of cancer death in women around the world. Several attempts to design new alternative therapies like immunotherapy have been evaluated in clinical trials, but they have shown limited efficacy. The failure of immunotherapy may be related to suppressive mechanisms in the tumor environment. Consequently, the development of new immunotherapy based treatment strategies is very important to understand the immunoregulatory mechanisms present in the tumor microenvironment. Some of the immunoregulatory mechanisms described in breast cancer will be discussed in this review.