Cameron Knight

Citation

Thesis Title
The Association Between Equine Papillomavirus Type 2 and Equine Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Read article at Massey Research Online:

In humans, nearly all cervical cancers, half of penile cancers, and one quarter of throat cancers are caused by human papillomavirus infection. Mr Knight investigated whether papillomaviruses similarly cause a proportion of cancers in horses. He screened cancerous and non-cancerous equine tissues for papillomavirus infection using conventional and quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Papillomaviral DNA was amplified significantly more frequently from cancerous than non-cancerous tissues, and at higher viral loads. Just one papillomavirus type was present, and this novel virus was termed Equus caballus papillomavirus type 2 (EcPV-2). Using immunohistochemistry Mr Knight then investigated whether EcPV-2 could cause cancer through dysregulation of the same cellular pathways as cancer-causing human papillomaviruses. His results showed that EcPV-2 influences the development of genital cancers in horses but through different cellular pathways. The information gained from his research will be useful in the development of a vaccine against some forms of equine genital cancer.

Supervisors
Professor John Munday
Associate Professor Magda Dunowska