Objective: To study the relationship between presence of HPV DNA related sequence and cellular-immune responses in patients with condyloma acuminata (CA).
Methods: HPV DNA related sequences in biopsy material of 30 CA patients were determined by using Southern blot hybridization, and typed according to the restricted fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis. At the same time, the T-cell subpopulations in peripheral blood of 30 patient with CA were also measured by using anti-CD3, CD4, CD8 monoclonal antibody labeled SERC direct rosette assay.
Results: HPV DNA positive results were revealed in 19 of 30 patients with CA(63.3%). Among them, 3 cases possessed HPV 6 DNA homologous sequence (15.8%), 15 had HPV 11 DNA homologous sequence(78.9%), and only one case had a sequence homologous to HPV 16 DNA(5.2%). The percentages of CD3 and CD4 cells were significantly lower (P< 0.01) in CA patients than those in controls. However the percentage of CD8 cell was strikingly higher (P< 0.001) in CA patients than that in controls. Consequently the CD4/CD8 ratio was noticeably lower (P<0.001) in patients with CA than that in controls. The decrease of CD3 cell and the lowering of C D4/CD8 ratio were closely related to the positivity of HPV DNA homologous sequence (P =0.008 02, P=0.004 17). Conclusion The presence of HPV DNA in the patients with CA results in inhibitory effects on a series of cellular-immune responses, which may play an important role in the pathogenesis of CA.