Human Papillomavirus Concordance Between Parents and Their Newborn Offspring: Results From the Finnish Family Human Papillomavirus Study.

BACKGROUND: The knowledge on vertical human papillomavirus (HPV) transmission is limited. We aimed to determine whether HPV transmission from parents to their offspring occurs before or during birth. METHODS: Altogether, 321 mothers, 134 fathers, and their 321 newborn offspring from the Finnish Family HPV study cohort were included. Parents' genital and oral brush samples and semen samples were collected for HPV testing at baseline (36 weeks of pregnancy). Oral, genital, and umbilical samples from the newborn and placenta samples were collected for HPV testing immediately after delivery. HPV risk for the newborn was calculated from the mother's and father's HPV status by using logistic regression analyses. RESULTS: Concordances between mothers' and their newborns' HPV genotype at any site were statistically significant with HPV-6, -16, -18, -31, and -56; odds ratios (ORs) ranged from 3.41 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.80-6.48) for HPV-16 to 634 (95% CI, 28.5-14 087) for HPV-31. Father-newborn HPV concordance was statistically significant with HPV-6 and HPV-31 (ORs, 4.89 [95% CI, 1.09-21.9] and 65.0 [95% CI, 2.92-1448], respectively). CONCLUSIONS: The genotype-specific HPV concordance between parents and their newborn is suggestive for vertical HPV transmission. However, transmission from the father to the newborn remains more uncertain.

HLA-G Alleles Impact the Perinatal Father-Child HPV Transmission.

The host factors that influence father-to-child human papillomavirus (HPV) transmission remain unknown. This study evaluated whether human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-G alleles are important in father-to-child HPV transmission during the perinatal period. Altogether, 134 father-newborn pairs from the Finnish Family HPV Study were included. Oral, semen and urethral samples from the fathers were collected before the delivery, and oral samples were collected from their offspring at delivery and postpartum on day 3 and during 1-, 2- and 6-month follow-up visits. HLA-G alleles were tested by direct sequencing. Unconditional logistic regression was used to determine the association of the father-child HLA-G allele and genotype concordance with the father-child HPV prevalence and concordance at birth and during follow-up. HLA-G allele G*01:01:03 concordance was associated with the father's urethral and child's oral high-risk (HR)-HPV concordance at birth (OR 17.00, 95% CI: 1.24-232.22). HLA-G allele G*01:04:01 concordance increased the father's oral and child's postpartum oral any- and HR-HPV concordance with an OR value of 7.50 (95% CI: 1.47-38.16) and OR value of 7.78 (95% CI: 1.38-43.85), respectively. There was no association between different HLA-G genotypes and HPV concordance among the father-child pairs at birth or postpartum. To conclude, the HLA-G allele concordance appears to impact the HPV transmission between the father and his offspring.

The association of HLA-G polymorphism with oral and genital HPV infection in men.

The host genetic factors that influence the natural history of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection in men are not well known. Our aim was to evaluate the role of human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-G polymorphism in oral and genital HPV infection in men. Altogether, 130 men from the Finnish Family HPV Study, with a 6-year follow-up, were included in the analyses. HLA-G alleles were tested by direct sequencing. Oral, urethral, and semen samples were collected and analyzed for 24 different HPV genotypes. Unconditional logistic regression was used to determine associations between HLA-G alleles and genotypes with HPV infection and its outcomes. Overall, eight different HLA-G alleles were identified with 15 different HLA-G genotype combinations. The most common HLA-G allele among the men was G*01:01:01 (86.2%, n = 112) followed by G*01:01:02 (36.2%, n = 47). Allele G*01:01:02 showed to be protective against any- and high-risk (HR) oral HPV (OR range of 0.20-0.24, 95% CI range of 0.06-0.85). Men having allele G*01:01:01 showed a reduced risk for incident (OR 0.30, 95% CI 0.11-0.84) and persistent (OR 0.24, 95% CI 0.08-0.69) oral infections. Allele G*01:01:03 was associated with increased risk for urethral HR-HPV infections (OR 4.94, 95% CI 1.34-18.27). Among self-reported demographic data, genotype G*01:01:01/01:01:03 was associated with an increased risk for oral warts (OR 8.00, 95% CI 1.23-51.89) and allele G*01:03:01 increased the risk of pollen and/or animal allergy (OR 13.59, 95% CI 1.57-117.25). To conclude, HLA-G polymorphism in men largely impacts the outcome of an oral HPV infection and seems to associate with self-reported allergies.