Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
7.3
3.8
Journals
Viruses
Special Issues
Immune Responses to Papillomavirus Infections: 2nd Edition
share announcement

Immune Responses to Papillomavirus Infections: 2nd Edition

A special issue of Viruses (ISSN 1999-4915). This special issue belongs to the section "Human Virology and Viral Diseases".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2026 | Viewed by 1769

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Jiafen Hu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Pathology, Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, Hershey, PA 17033, USA
Interests: papillomavirus; innate immunity; adaptive immunity
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is the most common sexually transmitted disease that causes approximately 5% of human cancers. Current prophylactic vaccines are effective at preventing HPV infections but provide no therapeutic effect on pre-existing HPV infections. Intriguingly, most HPV (about 90%) infections are cleared by hosts within 1–2 years after exposure. Understanding host control of HPV infections will potentially shed light on the development of novel therapy for HPV-associated diseases and cancers.

Innate and adaptive immunity have contributed to recognizing and fighting HPV infections. However, HPV has several mechanisms for circumventing immune responses. First, HPV uses rare codons for its genes. Therefore, most genes are expressed at a level undetectable by the immune system. Second, HPV infects, and reproduces in skin and mucosal keratinocytes, which are distant from immune centers and have a naturally short lifespan. The naturally short lifespan of the keratinocytes avoids the need for the virus to destroy these infected cells, which would trigger inflammation and immune responses. Third, HPV downregulates the expression of anti-viral interferon genes, which leads to prolonged viral infections, a risk factor for HPV associated cancer development.

In view of the success of the first volume (https://www.mdpi.com/journal/viruses/special_issues/22667S4AC9) and the continued interest it generated, we plan to reopen this second volume. The current issue still covers research relating to how the immune system effectively clears papillomavirus infections, and what immune responses are key factors in this optimum outcome. We would like to invite you to share your recent findings or perspectives on host immunity to papillomavirus, including but not limited to innate and adaptive immune responses in preclinical models and human studies.

Dr. Jiafen Hu
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Viruses is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • papillomavirus
  • HPV
  • immune responses
  • infections
  • models

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Related Special Issue

Published Papers (2 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

13 pages, 279 KiB  
Article
CTLA4 Haplotype Structures and −318 C>T (rs5742909) Genetic Variant Contribute to the Susceptibility of HPV Infection and Cervical Cancer
by Maylla Cardoso de Oliveira, Janaina Nicolau de Oliveira, Eliza Pizarro Castilha, Giulia Mariane Fortunato, Pamella Rodrigues da Silva, Bianca Lisley Barboza Pacheco, José d’Oliveira Couto-Filho, Roberta Losi Guembarovski and Karen Brajão de Oliveira
Viruses 2025, 17(4), 453; https://doi.org/10.3390/v17040453 - 21 Mar 2025
Viewed by 335
Abstract
High-risk Human Papillomavirus (HPV) infection is the main etiological factor for cervical carcinogenesis, although genetic cofactors also play a role. Single-nucleotide variants (SNVs) in the CTLA4 gene can alter the gene expression and immune response against HPV, influencing cervical malignancy progression. This study [...] Read more.
High-risk Human Papillomavirus (HPV) infection is the main etiological factor for cervical carcinogenesis, although genetic cofactors also play a role. Single-nucleotide variants (SNVs) in the CTLA4 gene can alter the gene expression and immune response against HPV, influencing cervical malignancy progression. This study analyzed the association of the alleles, genotypes, and haplotypes of the CTLA4 SNVs rs5742909 (−318 C>T), rs231775 (+49 A>G), and rs3087243 (+6230 G>A) with HPV infection, the development of low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (LSILs), high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSILs), and cervical cancer in 445 women treated by the public health service of Paraná, Brazil. Peripheral blood and cervical secretion samples were collected for genomic DNA extraction, CTLA4 SNV genotyping, and HPV detection via PCR. Statistical analyses used p < 0.05. The HPV-negative control group included 181 women, while the HPV-positive group included 264 women. The HPV-positive group was divided into no lesion (n = 84), LSILs (n = 19), HSILs (n = 56), and cervical cancer (n = 105). The T allele of −318 C>T and the TAG haplotype were associated with increased susceptibility to HPV infection, HSILs, and cervical cancer. These findings suggest that the T allele of −318 C>T and the TAG haplotype may serve as potential molecular biomarkers for HPV susceptibility and worse prognosis. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Immune Responses to Papillomavirus Infections: 2nd Edition)
14 pages, 3123 KiB  
Article
Viral Transcript and Tumor Immune Microenvironment-Based Transcriptomic Profiling of HPV-Associated Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma Identifies Subtypes Associated with Prognosis
by Anastasiia Nikitina, Daria Kiriy, Andrey Tyshevich, Dmitry Tychinin, Zoya Antysheva, Anastasya Sobol, Vladimir Kushnarev, Nara Shin, Jessica H. Brown, James Lewis, Jr., Krystle A. Lang Kuhs, Robert Ferris, Lori Wirth, Nikita Kotlov and Daniel L. Faden
Viruses 2025, 17(1), 4; https://doi.org/10.3390/v17010004 - 24 Dec 2024
Viewed by 1195
Abstract
Human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HPV-positive HNSCC) has distinct biological characteristics from HPV-negative HNSCC. Using an AI-based analytical platform on meta cohorts, we profiled expression patterns of viral transcripts and HPV viral genome integration, and classified the tumor microenvironment [...] Read more.
Human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HPV-positive HNSCC) has distinct biological characteristics from HPV-negative HNSCC. Using an AI-based analytical platform on meta cohorts, we profiled expression patterns of viral transcripts and HPV viral genome integration, and classified the tumor microenvironment (TME). Unsupervised clustering analysis revealed five distinct and novel TME subtypes across patients (immune-enriched, highly immune and B-cell enriched, fibrotic, immune-desert, and immune-enriched luminal). These TME subtypes were highly correlated with patient prognosis. In order to understand specific factors associated with prognosis, we used the unsupervised clustering of an HPV-positive HNSCC cohort from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) (n = 53) based on HPV transcript expression, and identified four HPV-related subtypes (E2/E5, E6/E7, E1/E4 and L1/L2). Utilizing both viral transcript and TME subtypes, we found that the E2/E5 HPV subtype was associated with an immune-enriched TME and had a higher overall survival rate compared to other subtypes. The E2/E5 subtype was also enriched for samples without HPV-genome integration, suggesting that the episomal HPV status and E2/E5 expression pattern may be associated with an inflamed microenvironment and improved prognosis. In contrast, E6/E7 subtype samples were associated with the fibrotic and immune-desert TME subtypes, with lower values of T-cell and B-cell gene expression signatures and lower overall survival. Both E1/E4 and L1/L2 subtypes were associated with the immune-enriched luminal subtype. Our results suggest that HPV-transcript expression patterns may drive the modulation of the TME, and thereby impact prognosis. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Immune Responses to Papillomavirus Infections: 2nd Edition)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-2
Back to TopTop