Research Group Oncology (RGO), Clinical Unit of Equine Surgery, Department for Companion Animals and Horses, Veterinary University, 1210 Vienna, Austria
Christoph Jindra
Research Group Oncology (RGO), Clinical Unit of Equine Surgery, Department for Companion Animals and Horses, Veterinary University, 1210 Vienna, Austria
Reinhard Kirnbauer
Laboratory of Viral Oncology (LVO), Department of Dermatology, Medical University, 1090 Vienna, Austria
Sabine Brandt
Research Group Oncology (RGO), Clinical Unit of Equine Surgery, Department for Companion Animals and Horses, Veterinary University, 1210 Vienna, Austria
Papillomaviruses (PVs) are a family of small DNA tumor viruses that can induce benign lesions or cancer in vertebrates. The observation that animal PV capsid-proteins spontaneously self-assemble to empty, highly immunogenic virus-like particles (VLPs) has led to the establishment of vaccines that efficiently protect humans from specific PV infections and associated diseases. We provide an overview of PV-induced tumors in horses and other equids, discuss possible routes of PV transmission in equid species, and present recent developments aiming at introducing the PV VLP-based vaccine technology into equine medicine.
