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This article is part of the supplement: Fifth Dominique Dormont International Conference. Host-Pathogen Interactions in Chronic Infections

Open Access Oral presentation

Effects of HPV-16 early proteins on trophoblastic cells

Selma Boulenouar1*, Christine Weyn1, Melody Van Noppen1, Moussa A Mohamed1, Françoise Bex2, Agnès Noël3, Yvon Englert1 and Véronique Fontaine1

  • * Corresponding author: Selma Boulenouar

Author Affiliations

1 Université Libre de Bruxelles, Bruxelles, Belgium

2 CERIA-ULB, Bruxelles, Belgium

3 Ulg, Liège, Belgium

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Retrovirology 2009, 6(Suppl 1):O1 doi:10.1186/1742-4690-6-S1-O1

Published: 22 July 2009

First paragraph (this article has no abstract)

The trophoblastic cell represents the main functional unit of the placenta. It proliferates, migrates, and invades the maternal tissue in a way that is similar to malignant tumors. Nevertheless, these processes are tightly controlled by stringent spatial and temporal confines. Therefore, the trophoblastic cell, as 'a well-behaved tumor', represents an ideal model system to investigate several oncogenic processes. Several studies reported that HPV viruses could infect trophoblasts during pregnancies. Surprisingly, HPV can replicate in vitro in trophoblasts. Higher HPV infection frequency has been reported to be associated with some spontaneous abortion and gestational trophoblastic diseases.