Detection of Human Papillomavirus DNA in Plucked Hairs from Renal Transplant Recipients and Healthy Volunteers

Abstract

We have previously detected a group of human papillomaviruses originally found in skin lesions of epidermodysplasia verruciformis (EV) patients in skin cancers from renal transplant recipients and from non-immunosuppressed patients. The reservoir of EV-HPVs is still unknown. In the current study we investigated whether EV-HPV DNA can be detected in plucked hairs from renal transplant recipients and healthy volunteers. Hairs were plucked from eyebrows, scalp, arms, and/or legs and DNA was subsequently isolated. To detect EV-HPV, we used nested PCR with degenerate primers located in the HPV L1 open reading frame. HPV DNA was detected in hairs from one or more sites in all 26 renal transplant recipients tested. Forty-five of 49 samples (92%) from these 26 patients were positive. The HPV type was successfully determined by sequencing in 38 samples, and all types belonged to the EV-HPVs. In ten of 22 healthy volunteers (45%), EV-HPV DNA was also detected in hairs from one or more sites. Twenty of 38 samples (53%) were positive, of which 17 samples were typed as EV-HPV types. These findings indicate that EV-HPV is subclinically present in the skin of the general population. Immunosuppression may lead to activation of the virus, explaining the finding that the apparent prevalence of EV-HPV in plucked hairs from renal transplant patients is higher than in those from the volunteers. If a dose-response situation exists for the carcinogenic potential of HPV infection, this finding may be relevant to the increased risk of skin cancer in this group of patients.

Oncogenic DNA viruses

“…Most of these isolates were hitherto unknown papillomavirus types, most frequently derived from the analysis of squamous cell carcinomas of the skin (SCC), from normal skin biopsies or from mucosal surfaces (Boxman et al, 1997;Astori et al, 1998;). It appears that many of these viruses do not cause overt disease and probably produce at best microlesions barely detectable without magnifying lenses.…”

Prevalence and type spectrum of human papillomaviruses in healthy skin samples collected in three continents

“…Some skin HPV types, mainly HPV-5 and HPV-8, have been found in skin cancer lesions, for example in EV patients (Jablonska & Majewski, 1994, Orth et al, 1979 and in immunosuppressed patients (Bens et al, 1998;Berkhout et al, 2000;de Villiers et al, 1997), and have therefore been suggested to be high-risk HPVs for these patients. However, in recent years it has been found that skin HPV types are widely spread among humans, giving rise to subclinical infections generally without causing warts or other lesions (Antonsson et al, 2000;Astori et al, 1998;Boxman et al, 1997).…”

Papillomaviruses in Multiple Tumours of Twin Goats

“…However, the etiologic role of HPVs in skin cancer still remains poorly defined, since HPV DNA is also frequently detectable in healthy skin or plucked hairs from individuals with and without skin cancer [23][24][25][26]. In addition, a low copy number of HPV DNA is usually associated with skin cancer, thus suggesting that it could be contained only in a minority of tumour [7].…”