title: A favorable clinical trend is associated with CD8 T-cell immune responses to the human papillomavirus type 16 e6 antigens in women being studied for abnormal pap smear results.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The goal of this study was to examine the role of CD8 T-cell responses to human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV-16) in a favorable clinical trend in women being studied for abnormal Pap smear results.
  
  
  METHODS
  Human papillomavirus-deoxyribonucleic acid testing and enzyme-linked immunospot assay using the HPV-16 E6 and E7 antigens were performed. The subjects with subsequent normal histologic diagnoses were considered to be "regressors" (n = 28), whereas those with histologic diagnoses of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia 1, 2, or 3 were considered to have short-term persistence of cervical abnormality and were designated to be "persistors" (n = 37).
  
  
  RESULTS
  There was a higher percentage of CD8 T-cell responses to the E6 antigen in the regressors (15/28 or 53.6%) when compared with the persistors (10/37 or 27.0%; p = .04), but there was no recorded response difference for the E7 antigen. Results were the same when the analyses for E6 included only subjects who were high-risk HPV-positive (p = .01).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The CD8 T-cell immune responses to the HPV-16 E6 antigens but not to E7 antigens are associated with a favorable clinical trend regardless of HPV types currently detected.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Pathology, College of Medicine, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR 72205, USA. mnakagawa@uams.edu
authors.forename: Mayumi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nakagawa
authors.forename: Sushil K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Gupta
authors.forename: Hannah N
authors.initials: HN
authors.lastname: Coleman
authors.forename: Matthew A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Sellers
authors.forename: Joseph A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Banken
authors.forename: William W
authors.initials: WW
authors.lastname: Greenfield
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D018414:CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D002584:Cervix Uteri / Q000473:pathology; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009856:Oncogene Proteins, Viral / Q000032:analysis / Q000276:immunology*; D065006:Papanicolaou Test; D027383:Papillomaviridae / Q000302:isolation & purification; D050725:Papillomavirus E7 Proteins / Q000032:analysis / Q000276:immunology; D030361:Papillomavirus Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012097:Repressor Proteins / Q000032:analysis / Q000276:immunology*; D014626:Vaginal Smears; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, 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