title: Genotyping human papillomavirus type 16 isolates from persistently infected promiscuous individuals and cervical neoplasia patients.
abstract: Nucleotide sequence variation in the noncoding region of the genome of human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV16) was determined by direct sequencing and single-strand conformation polymorphism analysis of DNA fragments amplified by PCR. Individuals of diverse sexual promiscuity and/or cervicopathology were studied. In a group of 14 healthy, monogamous HPV16-positive females, only two HPV16 sequence variants could be documented. Among 17 females and 3 males with multiple sex partners and living in the same geographical region, nine sequence variants were found, whereas among 7 patients with cervical neoplasia from another region, five variants were detected. Although numbers are limited, in the group of individuals at high risk of acquiring a sexually transmitted disease or with cervical neoplasia, a larger number of HPV16 sequence variants was encountered (two types among 14 individuals versus nine types among 20; Fisher's exact test, P = 0.07). Seven of the individuals were sampled repeatedly over time. For these persistently infected women, no differences in HPV16 sequences were detected, irrespective of promiscuity, and persistence of a single viral variant, spread over multiple anatomic sites, for more than 2 years could be demonstrated. This indicates that viral persistence may be a common feature and that successful superinfection with a new variant may be rare, despite a potentially high frequency of viral reinoculation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Microbiology, University Hospital Dijkzigt, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: van Belkum
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Juffermans
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Schrauwen
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: van Doornum
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Burger
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Quint
mesh_terms: D001483:Base Sequence; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009426:Netherlands / Q000453:epidemiology; D027383:Papillomaviridae / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D030361:Papillomavirus Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000821:virology*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D018807:Polymorphism, Single-Stranded Conformational; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D012725:Sexual Behavior; D012747:Sexual Partners; D014412:Tumor Virus Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000821:virology*; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000821:virology*
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral