title: Th1 cytokine patterns in cervical human papillomavirus infection.
abstract: The host's immune response to cervical human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is poorly understood. In a longitudinal cohort of women with cervical HPV infections, defined by PCR-based HPV DNA testing, we used exfoliated cervical cells and reverse transcription-PCR to examine the cervical mucosal mRNA expression of cytokines involved in regulating cell-mediated immunity. We identified seven HPV-positive subjects who were found to have cleared their HPV infections 4 months later. In all seven, a T-helper type 1 (Th1) cytokine pattern (expression of gamma interferon and absence of interleukin-4) preceded clearance. The more variable cytokine patterns seen in HPV-negative subjects suggest that the Th1 pattern in the women with subsequent clearance was a response to the HPV infection. This contention is supported by additional cross-sectional data showing a Th1 pattern in a majority of HPV-positive women. This study establishes a feasible means for assessing local cytokine expression in the cervical milieu and demonstrates that a Th1 cytokine response is associated with subsequent clearance of cervical HPV infection.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Francisco, California 94143, USA. mscott@itsa.ucsf.edu
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Scott
authors.forename: D P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Stites
authors.forename: A B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Moscicki
mesh_terms: D002584:Cervix Uteri / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology / Q000821:virology; D015331:Cohort Studies; D016207:Cytokines / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D015870:Gene Expression / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007111:Immunity, Cellular / Q000276:immunology; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008598:Menstruation / Q000276:immunology; D027383:Papillomaviridae / Q000276:immunology*; D030361:Papillomavirus Infections / Q000276:immunology*; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000032:analysis; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012749:Sexually Transmitted Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis; D018417:Th1 Cells / Q000276:immunology* / Q000821:virology*; D014412:Tumor Virus Infections / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines; D012333:RNA, Messenger