engleski

Detection of HPV types 16 and 18 in the placenta from miscarriages

We investigated the presence of HPV in placental tissue in order to determine whether it could have any role in the induction of miscarriages. Spontaneously aborted placental tissue was acquired during curettage. Informed consent from 108 women was obtained before further analyses. Karyotype of the miscarried fetus was determined by the cytogenetic analysis of placental chorionic villi. DNA was isolated from placental tissue and screened for the presence of HPV DNA by means of polymerase chain reaction (PCR). HPV DNA was detected in 8 (7.4 %) of 108 samples with type-specific primers for HPV 16 and 18. HPV 16 was detected in two samples with abnormal karyotypes, while HPV 18 was detected in two samples, of which one with normal karyotype and the other with undetermined karyotype. In the remaining four HPV positive samples mixed infection with both HPV types 16 and 18 was determined and the karyotype was normal in two cases, and abnormal and undetermined in one case, respectively. Our findings indicate that HPV can infect placental cells in vivo and that the infection might have a role in the induction of miscarriages. Since HPV DNA was not detected with consensus MY09/MY11 primers, low viral load or the integration of the virus DNA in the host cell genome could be considered. The possible involvement of HPVs, especially oncogenic HPV 16 and 18 in the development of chromosomal abnormalities and the possibility of viral DNA integration in the genome of placental and fetal cells should be further investigated.

human papillomavirus; miscarriage

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