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Fruit flies could be helpful to fight cervical cancer caused by HPV


HPV (human papilloma virus), one of the infections most common in the United States sexual transmission, it has been identified as a major cause of cervical cancer in women.

following the results, an international team of researchers led by the University of Missouri, has completed studies on fruit flies with a condition that resembles a form of cancer induced by HPV.

fly models developed by the team can help scientists understand the underlying mechanism by which this virus can cause cancer and identify potential drug treatments.

Professor Bing Zhang, speaking on the study, said: “This is the first model of HPV-induced cancer in fruit flies This new model will help scientists understand the molecular mechanisms and. biochemical involved in tumor growth and malignancy caused by HPV and screen potential drug targets. “

previous studies in human cells and in mice have shown that the virus enters the body through the skin and produces various oncoproteins, which are proteins that can transform a normal cell into a tumor cell. One of these viral oncoproteins, called “E6”, plays an important role during the later stages of tumor formation and metastasis.

The study, led by Mojgan Padash, introduced the E6 viral oncogene and a human protein that is necessary for E6-induced cancer in fruit flies. The proteins caused serious anomalies in the epithelium, or skin cells of fruit flies.

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Researchers also show reduced in the same series of specific proteins in the E6 levels in humans. Other experiments in human cell lines with the version of fruit fly-E6 specific proteins gave similar results, providing further evidence that E6 works the same in flies as it does in humans.

Although cellular abnormalities as a result, scientists found that E6 proteins were not enough to cause tumors in flies. Since it is believed that mutations in a human oncoprotein, called Ras, may contribute to tumor development E6 mediated in humans, researchers introduced this third protein in flies. With the three proteins present, they fly developed malignant tumors that metastasize.

“The main message is that the same molecular players key underlying cancer mediated E6 HPV in humans do the same things in flies. In practical terms, this means we can now use this fly model to identify other essential components that contribute to tumorigenesis mediated E6, which has the potential to lead to treatments for HPV-induced cancers, “he said.

The study appeared in PLoS Pathogens.

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