Honors Program
Date of this Version
2021
Document Type
Thesis
Citation
Kaur, S. 2021. Evidence for the Influence of HPV and DNATV in Ocular Surface Squamous Neoplasia. Undergraduate Honors Thesis. University of Nebraska - Lincoln.
Abstract
Ocular surface squamous neoplasia (OSSN) is a rare cancer which consists of a spectrum of diseases ranging from non-invasive intra-epithelial dysplasia of the conjunctiva and cornea (CCIN) to invasive squamous cell carcinoma. OSSN is much more common in the HIV- infected individuals. Although, HIV potentiates development of OSSN, it is likely that other factors such as oncogenic viruses, UV exposure are required. In this study, we obtained the evidence that human papillomavirus (HPV) and DNA Tumor viruses (EBV, MCV, KSHV, Adenoviruses) are present in many OSSN cases. We collected tear and tumor biopsy samples of both HIV positive and HIV negative OSSN patients. The DNA extracted from these samples was analyzed for the presence of genotypes of the HPVs and DNATVs. We found that EBV was the most common DNATV found in the OSSN patients, being found in 90.96% of tear samples, and in 79.41% of tumor samples. HPV-18 was the most prevalent genotype in the tear samples while HPV 33 was the most prevalent genotype in the tumor samples. There was a definite influence of HIV positivity on OSSN but the mechanism remains unclear. Determining the molecular pathways of these viruses which contribute to the development of OSSN in HIV patients is essential in understanding the progression of this disease. This project may help to identify novel therapies to block cancers.
Comments
Copyright Salan Preet Kaur 2021