Identification of Multiple HPV Types on Spermatozoa from Human Sperm Donors

Abstract

Human papillomaviruses (HPV) may cause sexually transmitted disease. High-risk types of HPV are involved in the development of cervical cell dysplasia, whereas low-risk types may cause genital condyloma. Despite the association between HPV and cancer, donor sperm need not be tested for HPV according to European regulations. Consequently, the potential health risk of HPV transmission by donor bank sperm has not been elucidated, nor is it known how HPV is associated with sperm. The presence of 35 types of HPV was examined on DNA from semen samples of 188 Danish sperm donors using a sensitive HPV array. To examine whether HPV was associated with the sperm, in situ hybridization were performed with HPV-6, HPV-16 and -18, and HPV-31-specific probes. The prevalence of HPV-positive sperm donors was 16.0% and in 66.7% of these individuals high-risk types of HPV were detected. In 5.3% of sperm donors, two or more HPV types were detected. Among all identified HPV types, 61.9% were high-risk types. In situ hybridization experiments identified HPV genomes particularly protruding from the equatorial segment and the tail of the sperm. Semen samples from more than one in seven healthy Danish donors contain HPV, most of them of high-risk types binding to the equatorial segment of the sperm cell. Most HPV-positive sperm showed decreased staining with DAPI, indicative of reduced content of DNA. Our data demonstrate that oncogenic HPV types are frequent in men.

Presence of human papillomavirus in semen of healthy men is firmly associated with HPV infections of the penile epithelium

“…We detected HPV-DNA, HPV-E4 and HPV-L1 in exfoliated keratinocytes present in some HPV16-positive semen samples, indicating the presence of HPV viral particles. In addition, we detected HPV-DNA on spermatozoa using FISH, which is in line with previous studies (8,9,21), but no HPV-L1. Although the number of additionally tested semen specimens is limited, the findings suggest that these FISH signals represent free viral DNA, released from terminally differentiated, exfoliated keratinocytes that adhere to sperm heads.…”

“…Previous studies have reported the prevalence of HPV in semen, ranging from 2% to 31% in asymptomatic men (7,8,10,22,23), 16%-26% in semen donors (21,24), and 3%-36% in fertility clinic attendees (7,10). The reported prevalence of HPV in semen in populations of asymptomatic men corresponds with the prevalence of 27% found in our study using GP5þ/6þ PCR.…”

Human Papillomavirus Positivity in Women Undergoing Intrauterine Insemination Has a Negative Effect on Pregnancy Rates

“…In men HPV sperm infections can be long-lasting (24 months) and are frequently associated with anti-sperm antibodies that may further reduce male fertility [5]. The presence of HPV virions that can bind two distinct sites along the equator of the spermatozoa's heads [5,6,7,8] may not only have a detrimental effect on sperm parameters [6,8,9] but also on gamete interaction, since in vitro experiments have demonstrated that spermatozoa can not only transfer HPV virions [10] to the oocyte, but the transferred HPV virions also induce stage-specific maturation arrest in infected embryos [11]. In untreated women with transient HPV infections, the median number of months between the first negative HPV measurement and the viral load maximum and the last HPV-negative measurement, irrespective of the HPV type, was 15.7 months and 11.9 months, respectively [4].…”

Diagnóstico de la infección por virus papiloma humano en el hombre

“…Asimismo, las muestras de orina han sido ampliamente estudiadas por sus ventajas como método de muestreo; sin embargo, los resultados no han sido totalmente satisfactorios 43 . Además, se han realizado estudios para la identificación de VPH en muestras de semen, por las implicancias que el VPH podría tener sobre la funcionalidad, la concentración, movilidad y viabilidad de los espermatozoides 44 . Debido a que un mismo individuo puede ser positivo para VPH en varios sitios anatómicos al mismo tiempo, uno de los desafíos es determinar la combinación de muestras más representativas y accesibles que no alteren la prevalencia estimada y que, a su vez, tengan aceptación entre los hombres.…”