title: Human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV-16) viral load and persistence of HPV-16 infection in women infected or at risk for HIV.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Persistent HPV-16 infection is a marker for risk of progression to high-grade cervical lesions. The predictive value of HPV-16 viral loads for persistent HPV-16 infection was assessed longitudinally in a cohort of 1055 sexually active women.
  
  
  METHODS
  HPV-16 viral loads were measured with real-time PCR targeting the E6 gene in 948 genital specimens collected from 139 women (100 HIV-seropositive, 39 HIV-seronegative).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Forty of 139 participants were classified as having persistent HPV-16 infection (lasting more than 12 months) and 27 women had transient infection. CD4 counts were negatively correlated with HPV-16 loads (R=-0.29, p=0.02). In multivariate analysis controlling for age, HIV, race and CD4 counts, peak HPV-16 viral loads (odds ratio (OR) 1.3, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.0-1.7) and CD4 cell counts (OR 2.0, 95% CI 1.1-3.6) were associated with persistence of HPV-16 infection. Women with > or =10(7) HPV-16copies/microg cellular DNA were infected for a longer period of time than women with a lower viral load after controlling for age, CD4 count and HIV status (p=0.01).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Higher HPV-16 viral loads were predictive of persistence of HPV-16 infection, a marker risk for potential progression to high-grade pre-cancerous and cancerous lesions of the cervix.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Virologie Moléculaire du centre de Centre de Recherche et Département de Microbiologie-Infectiologie, Centre Hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal, Montréal,Qué., Canada.
authors.forename: Julie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fontaine
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hankins
authors.forename: Deborah
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Money
authors.forename: Anita
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rachlis
authors.forename: Karina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Pourreaux
authors.forename: Alex
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ferenczy
authors.forename: François
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Coutlée
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D018791:CD4 Lymphocyte Count; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000150:complications*; D052162:Human papillomavirus 16 / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008875:Middle Aged; D030361:Papillomavirus Infections / Q000821:virology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D014621:Vagina / Q000821:virology*