Ötzi the Iceman mummy carried a high-risk strain of HPV, research finds
Two renowned prehistoric individuals were likely infected with a human papillomavirus that has been linked to several cancers.
Two renowned prehistoric individuals were likely infected with a human papillomavirus that has been linked to several cancers.
The 5,300-year-old Ötzi the Iceman mummy and a prehistoric man who lived in Siberia 45,000 years ago both carried a cancer-causing strain of human papillomavirus (HPV), new research finds.
Scientists analyzed ancient genetic data previously collected from the individuals, and found that both were likely infected with HPV16, a preprint paper posted to bioRxiv on Dec. 16, reported. In the study, which has yet to undergo peer-review, the authors present what they say is the "earliest molecular evidence" of HPV16 in modern humans.
This extremely early evidence of HPV16 in modern humans challenges the idea that Neanderthals, who overlapped with us in Eurasia from around 60,000 to 34,000 years ago in Eurasia, were the ones who transmitted the virus to us, the researchers said. But the team acknowledged that their sample size of two is small, so it's still hard to know where HPV16 originated.
HPV in ancient humans
HPV encompasses a diverse family of viruses that are primarily transmitted through direct skin-to-skin or sexual contact, and they are commonly found in humans today. Most infections are symptomless but in a small fraction of cases, HPV16 and other high-risk types (known as "oncogenic" papillomaviruses) can fuel the development of some cancers.
While the clinical significance of papillomaviruses is well understood, little is known about their occurrence among prehistoric human populations. In the study, the authors explored a long-standing question of how far back cancer-linked papillomaviruses — particularly HPV16 — have circulated in modern humans, study co-author Marcelo Briones, a professor at the Center for Medical Bioinformatics at the Medical School of the Federal University of São Paulo, Brazil, told Live Science in an email.
"The results indicate that HPV16 has been associated with anatomically modern humans for a very long time, likely well before major population splits outside Africa," or before 50,000 to 60,000 years ago, Briones said. "This supports the idea that oncogenic human papillomaviruses are not recent pathogens but long-term companions of their hosts, evolving alongside primates and humans over extended evolutionary timescales."
The researchers re-analyzed publicly available genome sequencing datasets for both Ötzi and the Siberian man, known as Ust'-Ishim. These individuals were chosen because they represent two of the best-preserved and best-characterized ancient human genomes available, Briones said.
