Antibody to a mutagenic peptide of herpes simplex virus in young adult patients with cancer of the head and neck

  • Chandra M. Das
  • , Stimson P. Schantz
  • , Edward J. Shillitoe

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

10 Scopus citations

Abstract

Cancer of the head and neck has been associated with herpes simplex virus type-1 by serologic studies that have used virus particles or complex mixtures of viral proteins as antigens. Recently a peptide was found to be encoded by the transforming region of the virus that is mutagenic and is postulated to be involved in cell transformation. Sera from young adult patients with head and neck cancer and from control subjects were examined for the presence of antibody to this peptide with the use of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Antibody to the peptide was detected in many sera and showed a significant correlation with antibody to the virus in sera from control subjects. Antipeptide antibodies were largely of the IgM isotype, and patients had significantly higher levels of antibody than control subjects. This study is consistent with an association between HSV-1 and head and neck cancer and suggests that this viral peptide should be investigated further for its role in carcinogenesis.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)610-614
Number of pages5
JournalOral Surgery, Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology and Oral Radiology
Volume75
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - May 1993
Externally publishedYes

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