The Association of Human Herpesvirus 8 and a Single Nucleotide Polymorphism in the gp130 Signaling Receptor in Prostate Cancer

We have previously demonstrated a significant association between human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) seroprevalence among men with prostate cancer in the Caribbean island of Tobago compared to cancer free men. HHV-8 DNA has been detected in semen and prostatic tissues in some, but not all reports. I have performed immunohistochemistry (IHC) on prostate tissues from HHV-8 seropositive men from the United States and Tobago with prostate cancer for the expression of viral proteins and determined if expression of these proteins are associated with increased inflammation. My results demonstrate the presence of viral proteins in prostates from seropositive men and among tissues expressing these viral proteins, there is increased inflammation as measured by macrophage infiltrate. I have also looked for the presence of polymorphisms in several genes previously associated with increased risk of prostate cancer to determine if there was a genetic link with the greater risk for prostate cancer in Tobago. We have found single nucleotide polymorphism in the IL-6 gp130 signaling receptor that is associated with increased prostate cancer risk among HHV-8 seropositive men. The public health relevance observed by these results suggests an interaction between HHV-8 infection, increased inflammation and genetic polymorphisms resulting in increased prostate cancer risk. I hypothesize that HHV-8 is a cofactor for prostate cancer in Tobago by establishing a chronic infection which leads to chronic inflammation and ultimately prostate cancer