title: Cell-mediated immune responses to human papillomavirus 16 E6 and E7 antigens as measured by interferon gamma enzyme-linked immunospot in women with cleared or persistent human papillomavirus infection.
abstract: Cell-mediated immune responses have been thought to be important in the control of human papillomavirus (HPV) infections. We examined cell-mediated immune responses to HPV-16 E6 and E7 in the peripheral blood using interferon gamma (IFN-gamma) enzyme-linked immunospot assay (Cellular Technology Ltd, Cleveland, Ohio) in women with HPV-16 infection who showed clearance and compared these women to women with HPV-16 persistence. Women participating in a longitudinal study of cervical HPV were recruited once cervical HPV-16 infection was detected by polymerase chain reaction. Four groups of women were examined: (1) persistent, (2) intermittent, (3) transient, and (4) cleared. Ninety-six samples from 55 women were compared. Comparing IFN-gamma enzyme-linked immunospot to the HPV-16 clearance of 10 women with recent persistence, none had response to either E6 or E7; of 24 women with recent clearance, 14 had E6 and 8 had E7 response. Women with intermittent persistence behaved similarly to the clearance group than recent persistors: 50% were positive to E6 and 20% to E7. In summary, anti-E6 responses seem critical in the immediate control of HPV, and in some women, an immune tolerance eventually develops if HPV is not eliminated soon after infection.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA. nozzaris@peds.ucsf.edu
authors.forename: Sepideh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Farhat
authors.forename: Mayumi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nakagawa
authors.forename: Anna-Barbara
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Moscicki
mesh_terms: D000956:Antigens, Viral / Q000276:immunology*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D052162:Human papillomavirus 16 / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007111:Immunity, Cellular; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear / Q000276:immunology; D009856:Oncogene Proteins, Viral / Q000276:immunology*; D050725:Papillomavirus E7 Proteins; D030361:Papillomavirus Infections / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology* / Q000821:virology; D012097:Repressor Proteins / Q000276:immunology*; D013602:T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000956:Antigens, Viral; C068651:E6 protein, Human papillomavirus type 16; D009856:Oncogene Proteins, Viral; D050725:Papillomavirus E7 Proteins; D012097:Repressor Proteins; C059731:oncogene protein E7, Human papillomavirus type 16; D007371:Interferon-gamma