Detection of human papillomavirus type 16 in Bowen's carcinoma of the toe.

BACKGROUND: Human papillomavirus (HPV) is known to cause cervical cancer. Because it has been detected in lesions of Bowenoid papulosis, Bowen's disease, and Bowen's carcinoma, HPV infection has been implicated in the pathogenesis of these diseases. METHODS: A 44-year-old man was diagnosed clinicopathologically with Bowen's carcinoma of the right great toe. He developed multiple organ metastases and died. We examined HPV DNA in skin biopsy specimens from the primary and skin metastatic lesions by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and in situ hybridization (ISH). The PCR assay was carried out using primer sets specifically designed for detecting the E6 and E7 genes of the HPV types associated with malignancy. Purified and cloned PCR products were subjected to DNA sequence analysis. The ISH studies used INFORM(®) HPV III probes. RESULTS: We found HPV DNA in specimens from both the primary and the skin metastatic lesions. DNA sequencing detected HPV type 16. We compared the base sequences of viral DNA from the primary and metastatic lesions. Point mutations of the base sequences of the E6 and E7 genes were observed in viral DNA from metastases but not in that from primary lesions. The E6 gene had mutated from G to A in the 383rd base sequence, causing a Glu-to-Lys amino acid change. Results of ISH showed punctuate signals in the nuclei of tumor cells. CONCLUSIONS: We suspect an association between HPV 16 infection and the development of this malignant occurrence.

IL-10 controls Th2-type cytokine production and eosinophil infiltration in a mouse model of allergic airway inflammation.

Interleukin-10 was originally described as a factor that inhibits cytokine production by murine Th1 clones. Recent studies have since shown that IL-10 can also downregulate Th2 clones and their production of IL-4 and IL-5. Because of its immuno-suppressive properties, IL-10 has been suggested as a potential therapy for allergic inflammation and asthma. However, the pathophysiological role of IL-10 in vivo has not been clearly elucidated. We investigated the effects of IL-10 administration on the production of IgE, cytokine and allergen-induced Th2 cytokine production as well as its effects on eosinophilic inflammation. We established GATA-3/TCR double transgenic (GATA-3/TCR-Tg) mice by crossing GATA-3 transgenic mice with ovalbumin (OVA)-specific TCR transgenic mice; these mice were then sensitized using an intraperitoneal injection of OVA adsorbed to alum and challenged with the intratracheal instillation of an allergen. When GATA-3/TCR-Tg mice sensitized with OVA and alum were injected with C57-IL-10 cells before OVA inhalation, the levels of IL-5, IL-13, and IL-4 decreased by 40-85% and number of eosinophils decreased by 70% (P<0.03) in the murine bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF). These results suggest that IL-10 plays an important role downstream of the inflammatory cascade in the Th2 response to antigens and in the development of BALF eosinophilia and cytokine production in a murine model of asthma. These immunosuppressive properties in animal models indicate that IL-10 could be a potential clinical therapy for the treatment of allergic inflammation.