Human herpesvirus 8 infection contributes to a T helper 2 immune response in men from Tobago with prostate cancer

Abstract

Abbreviations & Acronyms BMI = body mass index BPH = benign prostatic hyperplasia CRP = C-reactive protein DRE = digital rectal examination HHV-8 = human herpesvirus 8 IFNc = interferon gamma IL = interleukin MDSC = myeloid-derived suppressor cells PSA = prostate-specific antigen Th2 = T helper 2 TNF-a = tumor necrosis factor alpha Objectives: To compare the cytokine profile between human herpesvirus 8 seropositive and seronegative men with and without prostate cancer. Methods: The study sample was obtained from the Tobago Prostate Survey, an ongoing study of prostate cancer in the Caribbean island of Tobago. Participants in the study were recruited mostly by public service announcement and by word of mouth. For analyses of circulating levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines, participants with biopsyconfirmed prostate cancer (n = 79) were compared with control participants (n = 87). Results: Cytokine analyses showed a T helper 2 response with suppressed T helper 1 response in prostate cancer patients, as evidenced by significantly increased levels of interleukin-13 and reduced levels of interleukin-12p70. Herpesvirus 8 seropositive men showed significantly increased levels of interleukin-13 and interleukin-10. At logistic regression analyses, interleukin-12p70 predicted prostate cancer in 94.4% of human herpesvirus 8 seropositive men. Conclusions: These findings show that prostate cancer elicits an antitumor, T helper 2 response with a suppressed T helper 1 response. Human herpesvirus 8 infection results in a similar immune response supporting the hypothesis that in Tobago, human herpesvirus 8 establishes a chronic infection that can contribute to an immune response favoring the formation and survival of prostate cancer.

The bioinformatics and experimental analysis of the novel roles of virus infection-associated gene CDC20 for prognosis and immune infiltration in hepatocellular carcinoma

“…T helper 2 cells were recognized to play a pivotal role in mediating anti-tumor immunity. Similar to our finding of the strong association between CDC20 and T helper 2 cells in HTLV-1 infected HCC, a published paper also stated that infection of human herpesvirus 8 induced the T helper 2 immune response which contributed to the formation and proliferation of prostate cancer [ 25 ]. TNFRSF18 was served as an immunostimulator that was overexpressed in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma [ 26 ].…”

Seroprevalence of Herpes Simplex Virus Type 2 and Human Herpesvirus Type 8 among Prostate Cancer Patients Compared to Cancer-Free Men

“…The researchers reported a T-helper 2 response with an in-crease in IL-13 levels as well as a decrease in the T-helper 1 response, and the level of IL-12P70 was present in both prostate cancer patients and HHV-8 serologically positive patients. Hence, the authors of the study regarded these findings as supportive of their theory on the presence of an interaction between chronic HHV-8 infection and increased risk of prostate cancer (38). Previous research on men living in Trinidad and Tobago and the United States showed increased HHV-8 seropositivity in prostate cancer patients (36).…”

The Role of The Tumor Microbiome in Tumor Development and Its Treatment

“…Testing of specimens from patients with PCA and benign prostate disease revealed significant differences in the prevalence of Mycoplasma genitalium infection between the PCA cohort and the benign prostatic hyperplasia cohort (41). Infection with viruses such as HPV and polyomavirus BK may also promote the occurrence of PCA (42,43).…”