Science at UM [S04-ep21]: Papillomas in the stomach
This week on A l’UM la science, Nicolas Tessandier, researcher at the Mivegeclaboratory, talks to us about the immune response to papillomavirus. The report takes us to meet a 200-kilogram rodent at theIres, and our last-minute guest presents Primavera, the rare plant festival at the Jardin des Plantes. A program broadcast every Wednesday on Divergence.
It's a poetic name that almost evokes the beginning of a romance... "I have butterflies in my stomach." Yes, except that pretty butterflies can turn into nasty papillomas in the uterus.
Papillomavirus is one of the oncogenic viruses, meaning it can cause cancer. Hepatitis C virus, for example, can cause liver cancer, while Epstein-Barr virus can cause Burkitt's lymphoma. Papillomavirus is responsible for one in 20 cancers. These are mainly cervical cancers, but also include cancers of the vagina, anus, penis, and oropharynx.
A vaccine has been available since 2006 in the United States and 2007 in France. Although vaccination coverage remained very low for a long time, especially among boys, vaccination campaigns in middle schools are improving the figures. According to Santé publique France, in June 2024, the percentage of boys born in 2011 who had received at least one dose was 48%, compared to 62% for girls. Vaccination coverage for the second dose was estimated at 30% for boys and 38% for girls. Better, but still room for improvement.
In 90% of cases, papillomavirus infections will disappear within two years. In 10% of cases, the infection will persist and become potentially oncogenic. While the mechanisms behind this persistence remain poorly understood, those behind non-persistence, or healing, are equally unclear. That is why a team of researchers has been studying the dynamics of these non-persistent papillomavirus infections in an attempt to learn more.
Nicolas Tessandier is part of this team. He is a researcher at the Mivegec laboratory and holds an Exposum chair. He has authored a publication in the journal Plos Biology with the highly poetic title Viral and immune dynamics of human papillomavirus genital infections in young women with high temporal resolution.
Read also: Viruses that cause cancer, Lum magazine no. 11
In the second part of the program, we begin a new series of reports atIRES, the Institute for Research in Science Education. Over the next three weeks, we will be meeting researchers who are bringing their science to high school, middle school, and even elementary school students in order to inspire them to pursue careers in science. We begin with Philippe Munch, a researcher at Géosciences Montpellier, who talks to us about evolution thanks to a giant 300-kilogram rodent that mysteriously appeared in the West Indies...
Listen also: Fossils of Caribbean rodents in the ISEM sedimentation room with Philippe Munch
At the end of the program, Nathan Roure, press relations officer at the UM, will present the weekend's event: the return of spring and, with it, the return of Primavera, the rare plant festival at the Jardin des Plantes.
At UM Science, you have the program, so let's get started!
Co-production: Divergence FM / University of Montpellier
Host: Lucie Lecherbonnier
Interview: Lucie Lecherbonnier / Aline Périault
Reporting and editing: Aline Périault / Lucie Lecherbonnier
Production: Robin Laillou
Listen to the program “A l’UM la science” on Divergence FM 93.9
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