FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 12 FEBRUARY 1999
Contact: Leilyn Perri
lperri@psghs.edu
717-531-8604
Penn State
Topical Agent Found To Kill Papillomavirus
HERSHEY, PA--A common surfactant and detergent found in many shampoos and
toothpastes is the first topical microbicidal agent shown to kill animal and
human papillomavirus, according to a Penn State researcher. Sodium dodecyl
sulfate (SDS) was found in cell culture and animal testing to inactivate
sexually transmitted viruses including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV),
herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) and human papillomaviruses (HPVs). These
viruses cause AIDS, genital herpes and genital warts, respectively.
"This is a major step toward our goal of producing a practical,
non-toxic, inexpensive, discreet product which women can apply topically to
the vagina prior to intercourse -- a product which would protect them from HPV
infection even during encounters with infected partners," explains Mary
K. Howett, Ph.D., professor of microbiology and immunology at Penn State's
College of Medicine. "In the case of previously infected women, this
agent could prevent them from transmitting the virus to their partners. In
addition, this agent could be used alone or with other currently available
microbicides or spermicides to prevent HSV-2 and HIV transmission."
Howett and her colleagues' work titled, "A Broad-Spectrum Microbicide
with Virucidal Activity against Sexually Transmitted Viruses," is
published in the February issue of the journal Antimicrobial Agents and
Chemotherapy.
Howett says it will take at least several years before such products will
be produced for use in humans. However, she adds that such products could
greatly reduce cervical cancer.
Protection from genital wart viruses is important to public health because
lesions caused by these viruses can progress to cancer, most notably cancer of
the uterine cervix. This cancer causes 5,000 deaths per year in women in the
U.S. In the developing world, cervical cancer is the number one cause of
cancer related deaths in women. Worldwide, 250,000 women die annually from
this form of cancer. Prevention of HPV infection could prevent most of these
cancers. HPV infection may also lead to other cancers in the ano-genital
tracts of women and men. HPV is frequently associated with vulvar and anal
cancers. Prevention from transmission could also protect men and women from
development of these cancers.
It is thought that about one in four women are infected by these viruses in
the genital tract, with 1 to 3 percent of women showing overt signs of
clinical infection upon gynecologic examination. Although most infected people
do not develop cancer, individuals with HPV worry about infecting their
partners, suffer from physical repercussions including possible loss of
fertility and fear the development of cancer. Many people with HPV infection
are unaware that they are infected. HPV infections occur commonly in
adolescents and in people during their reproductive years. Lesions caused by
these viruses are worse in immunocompromised people such as those with AIDS.
Howett and her colleagues are searching for partners to develop products
that incorporate these anti-papillomavirus agents, alone or in combination
with other microbicides. One such partnership has been established with Dan
Malamud, Ph.D., and investigators at Biosyn, Inc. in Philadelphia to include
SDS in products containing C31G, another potent microbicide under development
by Biosyn.
The findings presented in this paper result from joint research efforts by
investigators in the Departments of Microbiology and Immunology and Pathology
and the Jake Gittlen Cancer Research Institute at The Milton S. Hershey
Medical Center of the Penn State College of Medicine in Hershey, Pa. and
investigators in the Department of Biochemistry at the University of
Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine, and at Biosyn, Inc. in Philadelphia,
Pa.
The work was performed through funding provided by a Program Project Grant
that was awarded to Penn State, the University of Pennsylvania, Biosyn, Inc.
and the University of North Carolina by the National Institute of Allergy and
Infectious Diseases, and from support provided by the Jake Gittlen Cancer
Research Institute.
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