Molecular detection and incidence of human papillomavirus in neonates: Methodology and a pilot study in a medical center

Abstract

A rapid, sensitive, specific, and reproducible RT-PCR method and nest PCR were developed for the detection and differentiation of HPV-6 and HPV-11 genomic variants in a single PCR reaction. The assays are of great value for clinical and epidemiologic studies of HPV-6 and HPV-11 infections. Neonatal HPV colonization may be related to juvenile-onset recurrent respiratory papillomatosis. The transmission route may be from mother to child. The clinical significance of neonatal carriage of HPV-6 or HPV-11 warrants further study.

The ‘Trojan horse‘ oncogenic strategy of HPVs in childhood

“…In contrast to the consistent epidemiologic evidence of the role of sexual transmission of HPVs in adults, perinatal transmission may be principally related to HPV infection in infants. To date, the presence of HPVs in newborn oral mucosa has been confirmed [24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33]. Recently, in a study by Tai et al of 108 specimens collected from neonates via endotracheal aspiration, HPV DNA was detected in 7.4% of specimens [24], while in a retrospective study by Martinelli et al HPV DNA was detected in 14.1% of oropharyngeal swabs collected from 177 newborns aged 0-6 months [25].…”

“…The mother seems to be the main transmitter of HPV infection to her newborn [24]. Several researchers have evaluated this concordance based on a broad spectrum of HPVs in oral and genital specimens of mothers and their recently born infants [26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33].…”