Human papillomavirus type 16 in infants: use of DNA sequence analyses to determine the source of infection

• Published in: Journal of general virology Vol. 77; no. 6; pp. 1139 - 1143
• Main Authors: Kaye, Jeremy N, Starkey, William G, Kell, Barbara, Biswas, Chandrima, Raju, K. Shanti, Best, Jennifer M, Cason, John
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Soc General Microbiol 01.06.1996
• Subjects: Base Sequence; DNA Primers; DNA, Viral - isolation & purification; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Genetic Variation; human papillomavirus 16; Humans; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical; Male; Molecular Sequence Data; Mothers; Papillomaviridae - classification; Papillomaviridae - genetics; Papillomaviridae - isolation & purification; Papillomavirus Infections - diagnosis; Papillomavirus Infections - transmission; Polymerase Chain Reaction - methods; Pregnancy; Pregnancy Complications, Infectious - virology; Regulatory Sequences, Nucleic Acid; Tumor Virus Infections - diagnosis; Tumor Virus Infections - transmission
• ISSN: 0022-1317; 1465-2099
• DOI: 10.1099/0022-1317-77-6-1139

The 1 Richard Dimbleby Laboratory of Cancer Virology, Department of Virology, The Rayne Institute and 2 Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, United Medical and Dental Schools of Guys and St Thomas', St Thomas' Hospital, Lambeth Palace Road, London SE1 7EH, UK Perinatal transmission of human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV-16) and persistence of virus DNA in infants until 6 months of age has been described. To confirm the origin of infant infections as maternal, we determined the nucleotide sequence of the upstream regulatory region (URR; bp 7540 to 157) of HPV-16 in samples from 13 HPV-16 DNA-positive mothers and their infants at 6 weeks and 2 years of age. Identical HPV-16 variant URR sequences were found in two mother/infant samples and similar variants were found in three sets. Four mothers with samples which contained prototypic HPV-16 sequences delivered infants who also had the prototypic sequence. Four mothers with variant URRs delivered infants who harboured either prototypic or different URR variants. Thus, concordant variants or prototypic sequences were detected in nine of 13 mother/infant samples, indicating that up to 69.2% of HPV-16-positive infants acquire virus from their mothers. * Author for correspondence. Fax +44 171 928 0730. Received 21 November 1995; accepted 18 January 1996.