Altered alpha-defensin 5 expression in cervical squamocolumnar junction: implication in the formation of a viral/tumour-permissive microenvironment
Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, particularly type 16, is causally associated with cancer of the uterine cervix, which mainly develops at the squamocolumnar (SC) junction. The progression of cervical HPV infections into (pre)neoplastic lesions suggests that viral antigens are not adequately recognized by innate immunity or presented to the adaptive immune system. Members of the defensin famil