Unlocking the Role of a Genital Herpesvirus, Otarine Herpesvirus 1, in California Sea Lion Cervical Cancer.

ABSTRACT: Urogenital carcinoma in California sea lions (Zalophus californianus) is the most common cancer of marine mammals. Primary tumors occur in the cervix, vagina, penis, or prepuce and aggressively metastasize resulting in death. This cancer has been strongly associated with a sexually transmitted herpesvirus, otarine herpesvirus 1 (OtHV1), but the virus has been detected in genital tracts of sea lions without cancer and a causative link has not been established. To determine if OtHV1 has a role in causing urogenital carcinoma we sequenced the viral genome, quantified viral load from cervical tissue from sea lions with (n = 95) and without (n = 163) urogenital carcinoma, and measured viral mRNA expression using in situ mRNA hybridization (Basescope^®) to quantify

SUBMITTER: Deming AC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7918579 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature