Spurgeon ME, Lange TE, Baty A, Li H, Lambert PF, Setchell KDR, Wells SI, Zhao X. Lipid reprogramming of stratified squamous epithelium by the high-risk HPV E6 and E6/E7 oncoproteins. Metabolomics. 2026 Jul 1;22(4):111. doi: 10.1007/s11306-026-02498-2. PMID: 42384270; PMCID: PMC13323514.

Viruses cleverly manipulate their host cells to support their maintenance, replication and spread.  Genes and enzymatic activities that are key to the oncogenicity of human papillomaviruses have been extensively described.  Here, new Assistant Professor Megan Spurgeon is stretching out to a relatively new topic in virology, to investigate whether papillomaviruses affect host cell metabolism.  She discovered that epidermis expressing papillomaviral oncogenes display significant changes in oxidized lipid classes, with potential impact for viral life cycle.

Spurgeon ME. The cervicovaginal microbiome: an emerging determinant of HPV infection and disease. J Virol. 2026 Jul 23:e0170625. doi: 10.1128/jvi.01706-25. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 42489460.

The microbiome is emerging as a major factor in many human diseases, including viral tumors such as those linked to the human papillomavirus family (which causes 5% of all human cancers).  For a new series of invited reviews by early career group leaders (called New Voices in Virology), Dr. Spurgeon summarizes the role of the microbiome in human papillomavirus infection, together with potential factors that make only some individuals prone to neoplastic progression.

Seki T, Davis S, Miyamoto S, Akiyama T, Nakano H, Inoue JI, Okunishi K. The Nuclear Export Signal of IκBα Drives RelB Oscillations in the Noncanonical NF-κB Pathway. Genes Cells. 2026 Jul;31(4):e70135. doi: 10.1111/gtc.70135. PMID: 42390017; PMCID: PMC13325521.

Many signaling pathways in cancer biology require a transcription effector to move from the cytoplasm to the nucleus to induce changes in gene expression.  McArdle Emeritus Professor Shigeki Miyamoto, an eminent leader in research into the inflammatory NF-κB pathway, collaborated with a group in Tokyo, Japan, to reveal the surprising discovery that RelB translocation into the nucleus is not one way, instead this protein bounces in and out of the nucleus in different patterns that depend on the molecular circuitry.