Classification of papillomaviruses

Abstract

One hundred eighteen papillomavirus (PV) types have been completely described, and a yet higher number of presumed new types have been detected by preliminary data such as subgenomic amplicons. The classification of this diverse group of viruses, which include important human pathogens, has been debated for three decades. This article describes the higher-order PV taxonomy following the general criteria established by the International Committee on the Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV), reviews the literature of the lower order taxa, lists all known "PV types", and interprets their phylogenetic relationship. PVs are a taxonomic family of their own, Papillomaviridae, unrelated to the polyomaviruses. Higher-order phylogenetic assemblages of PV types, such as the "genital human PVs", are considered a genus, the latter group, for example, the genus "Alpha-Papillomavirus". Lower-order assemblages of PV types within each genus are treated as species because they are phylogenetically closely related, but while they have distinct genomic sequences, they have identical or very similar biological or pathological properties. The taxonomic status of PV types, subtypes, and variants remains unchanged and is based on the traditional criteria that the sequence of their L1 genes should be at least 10%, 2-10%, and maximally 2% dissimilar from one another.

Biology of Human Papillomavirus Infections in Head and Neck Carcinogenesis

“…Mucosal HPV types found preferentially in precancerous and cancerous lesions have been designated as 'high-risk' types and these include types 16,18,31,33,34,35,39,45,51,52,56,58,59, 66, 68, and 70. Mucosal HPVs found in benign genital warts and other non-malignant lesions are generally labeled as 'low-risk' types, the most important ones being HPV 6,11,42,43, and 44 [1,2].…”

Retinoblastoma family proteins as key targets of the small DNA virus oncoproteins

“…At present, more than 150 different HPV genotypes have been isolated and grouped roughly into mucosal (a) or skin (b) genotypes, according to their preferred target tissue (De Villiers et al, 2004;Munger et al, 2004). Productive HPV infection has long been known to cause benign squamous hyperplasias, also known as warts.…”

Analysis of the presence of cutaneous and mucosal papillomavirus types in ductal lavage fluid, milk and colostrum to evaluate its role in breast carcinogenesis

“…The HPV family comprises approximately 100 different types that have been sub-grouped in different genera according to their genomic DNA sequence [2]. In addition, the HPVs can be subdivided into mucosal or cutaneous, based on their tissue tropism.…”