Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Papillomavirus often active in cat skin cancer cells
By Thomson, Neroli A et al.·Published in The Journal of general virology·2016·Institute of Veterinary·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Frequent detection of transcriptionally active Felis catus papillomavirus 2 in feline cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A study found that a specific virus, Felis catus papillomavirus 2 (FcaPV-2), is often present in skin cancers called cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) in cats. While the virus was also found in healthy cats, it was more active in some cancer cases, suggesting it might contribute to cancer development in those instances. Out of 60 SCC samples, 20 showed high levels of the virus and gene activity, similar to premalignant lesions caused by the virus. This indicates that FcaPV-2 could be a factor in certain feline skin cancers, but more research is needed to understand its role fully.
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Abstract
Felis catus papillomavirus 2 (FcaPV-2) causes premalignant skin lesions in cats and has also been found in a proportion of cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) - a common and potentially fatal cancer of cats. Whilst this could suggest a role of the virus in cancer development, FcaPV-2 has also been detected in skin swabs of normal cats, making it difficult to discern whether the papillomavirus is causing the cancer or merely an 'innocent bystander'. To distinguish between these two possibilities, real-time PCR was used to determine the viral copy number and the transcriptional activity of FcaPV-2 infections present in 70 formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded skin lesions including 10 papillomavirus-induced premalignant lesions and 60 SCCs. FcaPV-2 gene expression was found in 21 of 60 (35 %) SCCs, all 10 premalignant lesions and none of 10 normal skin samples. The results showed two distinct subsets of SCCs. The majority of the SCCs had low copy numbers of FcaPV-2 DNA (mean of 17 copies per copy of reference gene DNA) and no FcaPV-2 gene expression, suggesting the virus was an incidental finding. In contrast, 20 SCCs had detectable FcaPV-2 E6/E7 gene expression and very high copy numbers of FcaPV-2 DNA, with a mean of 32 930 copies per copy of reference gene DNA. The relative quantity of E6/E7 gene expression and the viral copy number in this group were similar to those found in the papillomavirus-induced premalignant lesions, suggesting that FcaPV-2 may play a role in the development of a subset of feline cutaneous SCCs.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26838514/