HPV detection and genotyping as an earlier approach in cervical cancer screening of the female genital tract.

Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is the leading risk factor for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) and cervical cancer. More than 100 virus genotypes have been identified so far, some of them strongly associated with the development of neoplasia. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of the different HPV genotypes in women presenting no cytological alterations in cervical cells, in women presenting light alterations, and in women presenting severe alterations at routine gynecological examination. We retrospectively analyzed 97 HPV results of women submitted to cervical cancer screening compared to their Papanicolaou and colposcopy examinations. Data were analyzed individually and within groups to correlate the HPV genotypes identified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and the respective alterations in cervical cells. Among the nine cases diagnosed as CIN I (9.3%), two were positive for low-risk HPV genotypes (22%), and the other seven were negative for HPV by PCR (78%). CIN II or CIN III diagnoses were associated with positive HPV results by PCR in four cases (36%), for high-risk as well as low-risk genotypes. There were two patients with severe cytological alterations in cervical cells, but with an indeterminate HPV genotype (18%), and one case with a negative HPV result (9%). Among the 57 cases without cytological alterations, seven were positive for low-risk HPV (12%) and two for high-risk HPV genotypes (3.5%). In the 48 remaining cases, we observed one with an indeterminate HPV genotype (2%), and the other 47 were negative for HPV by PCR (47%). Our study demonstrates an important prevalence of high- and low-risk HPV genotypes in our population, including those not present in the commercially available vaccine, even in patients with no evidence of cytological alterations in cervical cells. These results highlight the usefulness of HPV detection and typing as an early approach for cervical cancer screening and prevention.

Evaluation of IgG, IgM, and IgA antibodies to mycoplasma penetrans detected by ELISA and immunoblot in HIV-1-infected and STD patients, in São Paulo, Prazil.

The aim of the present study was to determine the frequency of IgG, IgA, and IgM antibodies to Mycoplasma penetrans in HIV-1-infected patients and in patients with sexually transmitted diseases. We tested serum samples from 106 HIV-1-positive patients and 110 individuals with clinical symptoms of urethritis. ELISA and the immunoblot test were performed using M. penetrans lipid associated membrane proteins as antigen. By ELISA, we found a higher frequency (P < 0.05) of IgG against M. penetrans in HIV-1-infected and STD patients (25.5 and 17.3%) than in controls (1.2%), as well as a higher frequency of IgA (P < 0.05) (15.1 and 17.3% compared to 1.2%). For IgM, no differences were observed (P >/= 0.05) (3.8, 9.1, and 5. 8%, respectively). When the frequencies of IgG, IgM, and IgA antibodies of the HIV-1-infected patients were compared taking into account the CD4/CD8 cell ratios < 0.3 and >/= 0.3, no significant differences were observed between the two groups (13.3, 10, and 20%, compared to 20, 0, and 5%, respectively) (P > 0.05), possibly due to the low number of samples on which we could perform T-cell counts (53/106). The M. penetrans peptide of 38 kDa, considered immunodominant, was recognized in immunoblot by 51.8% of positive sera by ELISA for IgG, 50.0% for IgM, and 75% for IgA in the AIDS patients group, and by 47.4, 60.0, and 75.0%, respectively, in the sexually transmitted disease group. Cross-reactions in immunoblot for IgG were observed in sera from individuals infected with Mycoplasma pneumoniae and Mycoplasma hominis, and cross-reactions in immunoblot for IgA were observed in sera from individuals infected with M. hominis; all of them were ELISA negative to M. penetrans.