Investigation on Spontaneous Abortion and Human Papillomavirus Infection

Abstract

Viral infections are considered to be risk factors for spontaneous abortion (SA). Conflicting results have been reported on the association between Human Papillomavirus (HPV) and SA. HPV DNA was investigated in matched chorionic villi tissues and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from women who experienced SA (n = 80, cases) and women who underwent a voluntary interruption of pregnancy (VI; n = 80, controls) by qualitative PCR and quantitative droplet digital PCR (ddPCR). Viral genotyping was performed using real-time PCR in HPV-positive samples. Specific IgG antibodies against HPV16 were investigated in sera from SA (n = 80) and VI (n = 80) females using indirect ELISA assays. None of the DNA samples from SA subjects was HPV-positive (0/80), whilst HPV DNA was detected in 2.5% of VI women (p > 0.05), with a mean viral DNA load of 7.12 copy/cell. VI samples (n = 2) were found to be positive for the HPV45 genotype. The ddPCR assay revealed a higher number of HPV-positive samples. HPV DNA was detected in 3.7% and 5% of SA and VI chorionic tissues, respectively, with mean viral DNA loads of 0.13 copy/cell in SA and 1.79 copy/cell in VI (p >0.05) samples. All DNA samples from the PBMCs of SA and VI females tested HPV-negative by both PCR and ddPCR. The overall prevalence of serum anti-HPV16 IgG antibodies was 37.5% in SA and 30% in VI (p > 0.05) women. For the first time, HPV DNA was detected and quantitatively analyzed using ddPCR in chorionic villi tissues and PBMCs from SA and VI women. Circulating IgG antibodies against HPV16 were detected in sera from SA and VI females. Our results suggest that HPV infection in chorionic villi may be a rare event. Accordingly, it is likely that HPV has no significant role in SA.

Serum Antibodies Against the Oncogenic Merkel Cell Polyomavirus Detected by an Innovative Immunological Assay With Mimotopes in Healthy Subjects

“…A two-sided chi-square test was used to statistically analyze MCPyV seroprevalences ( 46 , 62 ). Values were analyzed using the D’Agostino Pearson normality test and then parametric and non-parametric tests were applied according to normal and non-normal variables, respectively ( 60 , 63 ).…”

“…Controls comprised (i) MCPyV-negative [n=67, mean age ± standard deviation (SD), 53 ± ( 7) years] and (ii) MCPyV-positive healthy individuals [n=65, mean age ± SD, 50 ± ( 9) years]. Our assay was then validated on n=548 [mean age ± SD, 42 ± ( 13) years] sera from healthy subjects (HS) with unknown MCPyV serology taken from our serum collection (45)(46)(47). Anonymously collected sera were coded with age and gender indications.…”

Association between oncogenic human papillomavirus type 16 and Killian polyp

“…Fifty ng of human genomic DNA were used in 10 μl qPCR reactions. For HPV DNA detection the universal primers GP5+/GP6+ (Table 1) were used, as previously reported [33,34]. These primers allow simultaneous amplification of several HPV types [35,36], including those frequently detected in KP, such as HPV6/11/16/18 [27,28].…”

Methylation of SERPINA1 gene promoter may predict chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in patients affected by acute coronary syndrome

“…The Chi-square trend test with Yate’s correction [ 31 ] was used to compare the observed SERPINA1 epigenotypes, i.e., DNA hypermethylation and hypomethylation, among COPD+ and COPD− groups. Lymphocyte values were analyzed with D'Agostino-Pearson test for normality, and groups were compared employing the nonparametric Mann–Whitney U test [ 32 , 33 ]. Spearman correlation analysis was applied to evaluate age-related variations in SERPINA1 promoter methylation by matching the level of methylation to the age of each individual [ 30 ].…”