Paediatric Virology and its interaction between basic science and clinical practice (Review)

Mammas, Ioannis N.; Greenough, Anne; Theodoridou, Maria; Kramvis, Anna; Rusan, Maria; Melidou, Angeliki; Korovessi, Paraskevi; Papaioannou, Georgia; Papatheodoropoulou, Alexia; Koutsaftiki, Chryssie; Liston, Maria; Sourvinos, George; Spandidos, Demetrios A.

HPV infections: Aspects of paediatric relevance. HPVs are small, non-enveloped, double-stranded, circular dNA viruses, belonging to the family Papillomaviridae (40) (41) (42) . HPVs infect epithelial tissue and their life cycle is closely intertwined with the differentiation of the epithelium (41, 42) . HPV requires the host DNA replication machinery in order to replicate its genome. This maintains the keratinocytes in a proliferative state via the action of specific HPV proteins, of which the best characterised are E6 and E7 and thus, creates an environment amenable to carcinogenesis (43) . Breast feeding 'Prolonged breast feeding is clearly of great benefit for babies. Human milk contains some species-specific sugars, which block the uptake of potentially dangerous viruses (e.g., noro-and rotaviruses), which are the cause for high infant mortality for newborn children, specifically in developing parts of this world. During a period of ~6 months of breast feeding the immune system matures and subsequently such infections have a less deleterious impact. The uptake, however, of 5-N-glycolyl-neuraminic acid (not produced in humans) by bovine milk and meat leads to the incorporation of this sialic acid into cellular glycoproteins and modifies those receptors, rendering them susceptible for other virus infections (e.g., human polyomavirus type 9 and others).'