The expression of yeast long non-coding (lnc)RNAs is restricted by RNA surveillance machineries, including the cytoplasmic 5′-3′ exonuclease Xrn1 which targets a conserved family of lncRNAs defined as XUTs, and that are mainly antisense to protein-coding genes. However, the co-factors involved in the degradation of these transcripts and the underlying molecular mechanisms remain largely unknown. Here, we show that two RNA helicases, Dbp2 and Mtr4, act as global regulators of XUTs expression. Using RNA-Seq, we found that most of them accumulate upon Dbp2 inactivation or Mtr4 depletion. Mutants of the cytoplasmic RNA helicases Ecm32, Ski2, Slh1, Dbp1, and Dhh1 did not recapitulate this global stabilization of XUTs, suggesting that XUTs decay is specifically controlled by Dbp2 and Mtr4. Notably, Dbp2 and Mtr4 affect XUTs independently of their configuration relative to their paired-sense mRNAs. Finally, we show that the effect of Dbp2 on XUTs depends on a cytoplasmic localization. Overall, our data indicate that Dbp2 and Mtr4 are global regulators of lncRNAs expression and contribute to shape the non-coding transcriptome together with RNA decay machineries.

Recent studies have revealed the impact of human papillomavirus (HPV) infections on the cervicovaginal microbiome; however, few have explored the utility of self-collected specimens (SCS) for microbiome detection, obtained using standardised methods for HPV testing. Here, we present a proof-of-concept analysis utilising Oxford Nanopore sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene in paired samples collected either by the patient using an Evalyn Brush or collected by a physician using liquid-based cytology (LBC). We found no significant differences in the α-diversity estimates between the SCS and LBC samples. Similarly, when analysing β-diversity, we observed a close grouping of paired samples, indicating that both collection methods detected the same microbiome features. The identification of genera and Lactobacillus species in each sample allowed for their classification into community state types (CSTs). Notably, paired samples had the same CST, while HPV-positive and -negative samples belonged to distinct CSTs. As previously described in other studies, HPV-positive samples exhibited heightened bacterial diversity, reduced Lactobacillus abundance, and an increase in genera like Sneathia or Dialister. Altogether, this study showed comparable results between the SCS and LBC samples, underscoring the potential of self-sampling for analysing the microbiome composition in cervicovaginal samples initially collected for HPV testing in the context of cervical cancer screening.

Background: Sinonasal exophytic papillomas (SNEP) are benign tumours arising from nasal mucosa. Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection seems to be related to the aetiology of a fraction of SNEP cases. SNEP presentation can be focal (FSNEP) or diffuse (DSNEP), but factors related to focal or diffuse presentation have not yet been well ascertained. This study aimed to analyse clinical, histological, and HPV-related differences between FSNEP and DSNEP. Methods: A retrospective cohort of 18 patients with SNEP from our centre were evaluated. Demographic, clinical and follow-up data were collected. All samples were subject to histopathological evaluation, DNA quality control, HPV-DNA detection, and viral load assessment. Univariate analyses were performed to evaluate differences between FSNEP and DSNEP. Results: Twelve SNEP patients were included in the final analysis. Seven patients had a diffuse nasal presentation, being younger than patients affected with FSNEP (42.7 years vs. 65.2 years, p = 0.019). The nasal septum was significantly more affected in DSNEP than in FSNEP (85.7% vs. 20%, p = 0.029). HPV-DNA was detected more frequently (100%) in DSNEP (HPV11 in six cases, HPV6 in one case) than in FSNEP (40%, p = 0.045, HPV6 in two cases). The median viral load among HPV6-positive samples was 626.8 virus/cell for FSNEP and 80.2 for DSNEP, and among HPV11-positive samples was 1673.7 for DSNEP. Recurrences were more frequent in the diffuse than in the focal group (85.7% vs. 20%, p = 0.029). Conclusions: The diffuse presentation of SNEP seems to be related to younger patients, nasal septum involvement, HPV infection, mostly HPV11, and a higher risk of recurrence.

Many scientific societies have issued guidelines to introduce population-based cervical cancer screening with HPV testing. The Vitro HPV Screening assay is a fully automatic multiplex real-time PCR test targeting the L1 GP5+/GP6+ region of HPV genome. The assay detects 14 high risk (HR) HPV genotypes, identifying individual HPV16 and HPV18 genotypes, and the HPV-positive samples for the other 12 HR HPV types are subsequently genotyped with the HPV Direct Flow Chip test. Following international guidelines, the aim of this study was to validate the clinical accuracy of the Vitro HPV Screening test on ThinPrep-collected samples for its use as primary cervical cancer screening, using as comparator the validated cobas^® 4800 HPV test. The non-inferiority analysis showed that the clinical sensitivity and specificity of the Vitro HPV Screening assay for a diagnosis of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia of grade 2 or worse (CIN2+) were not inferior to those of cobas^® 4800 HPV (p = 0.0049 and p < 0.001 respectively). The assay has demonstrated a high intra- and inter-laboratory reproducibility, also among the individual genotypes. The Vitro HPV Screening assay is valid for cervical cancer screening and it provides genotyping information on HPV-positive samples without further sample processing in a fully automated workflow.