Human papillomavirus in amniotic fluid

BACKGROUND: There is evidence to suggest that human papillomavirus (HPV) can cross the placenta resulting in in-utero transmission. The goal of this study was to determine if HPV can be detected in amniotic fluid from women with intact amniotic membranes. METHODS: Residual amniotic fluid and cultured cell pellets from amniocentesis performed for prenatal diagnosis were used. PGMY09/11 L1 consensus primers and GP5+/GP6+ primers were used in a nested polymerase chain reaction assay for HPV. RESULTS: There were 146 paired samples from 142 women representing 139 singleton pregnancies, 2 twin pregnancies, and 1 triplet pregnancy. The women were 78% Caucasian, 5% African American, 14% Asian, and 2% Hispanic. The average age was 35.2 years with a range of 23–55 years. All samples were β-globin positive. HPV was not detected in any of the paired samples. CONCLUSION: Given the age range, race, and ethnicity of the study population, one would anticipate some evidence of HPV if it could easily cross the placenta, but there was none

PathogenMip Assay: A Multiplex Pathogen Detection Assay

The Molecular Inversion Probe (MIP) assay has been previously applied to a large-scale human SNP detection. Here we describe the PathogenMip Assay, a complete protocol for probe production and applied approaches to pathogen detection. We have demonstrated the utility of this assay with an initial set of 24 probes targeting the most clinically relevant HPV genotypes associated with cervical cancer progression. Probe construction was based on a novel, cost-effective, ligase-based protocol. The assay was validated by performing pyrosequencing and Microarray chip detection in parallel experiments. HPV plasmids were used to validate sensitivity and selectivity of the assay. In addition, 20 genomic DNA extracts from primary tumors were genotyped with the PathogenMip Assay results and were in 100% agreement with conventional sequencing using an L1-based HPV genotyping protocol. The PathogenMip Assay is a widely accessible protocol for producing and using highly discriminating probes, with experimentally validated results in pathogen genotyping, which could potentially be applied to the detection and characterization of any microbe

Distribution Patterns of Infection with Multiple Types of Human Papillomaviruses and Their Association with Risk Factors

Background: Infection with multiple types of human papillomavirus (HPV) is one of the main risk factors associated with the development of cervical lesions. In this study, cervical samples collected from 1, 810 women with diverse sociocultural backgrounds, who attended to their cervical screening program in different geographical regions of Colombia, were examined for the presence of cervical lesions and HPV by Papanicolau testing and DNA PCR detection, respectively. Principal Findings: The negative binomial distribution model used in this study showed differences between the observed and expected values within some risk factor categories analyzed. Particularly in the case of single infection and coinfection with more than 4 HPV types, observed frequencies were smaller than expected, while the number of women infected with 2 to 4 viral types were higher than expected. Data analysis according to a negative binomial regression showed an increase in the risk of acquiring more HPV types in women who were of indigenous ethnicity (+37.8%), while this risk decreased in women who had given birth more than 4 times (-31.1%), or were of mestizo (-24.6%) or black (-40.9%) ethnicity. Conclusions: According to a theoretical probability distribution, the observed number of women having either a single infection or more than 4 viral types was smaller than expected, while for those infected with 2-4 HPV types it was larger than expected. Taking into account that this study showed a higher HPV coinfection rate in the indigenous ethnicity, the role of underlying factors should be assessed in detail in future studies.This project was funded by Asociacion Investigacion Solidaria SADAR, Caja Navarra (Navarra, Spain) and the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) (Project 08-CAP2-0609)

Multiplex PCR assay for the rapid identification of human papillomavirus genotypes 16, 18, 45, 35, 66, 33, 51, 58, and 31 in clinical samples

The causal association between persistent human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and cervical cancer has lead to the development of a variety of molecular assays for HPV detection. The present study focused on the development of a simple, sensitive and cost-effective HPV genotyping method based on multiplex PCR methodology that could be easily performed in small laboratories. Three multiplex PCR assays were developed to identify the HPV genotypes 16, 18, 45, 35, 66, 33, 51, 58, and 31 together with an internal control. The method was established by designing nine type-specific primer sets that target conserved regions of the L1 gene. The assay was applied using HPV-positive cervical specimens, and cloning and sequencing of all of the amplicons that were generated were performed to examine the specificity of the newly designed primers. Moreover, an experimental cutoff value was determined through reconstitution experiments using HPV DNA plasmids. Amplicons of expected size were obtained, while cloning and sequencing of PCR products confirmed the genomic specificity of the amplicons. The sensitivity of this method was determined to be 10 copies of each individual HPV genotype per test. Multiple and single HPV infections were documented in 42.2 % and 57.8 % of cervical specimens, respectively. The most prevalent HPV genotype was HPV16, followed by HPV18, HPV66 and HPV51. The present multiplex PCR assay is a simple method with high specificity and sensitivity that can be applied in clinical or epidemiological analyses for rapid identification of the most clinically important HPV genotypes present in cervical intraepithelial neoplasias