Human papillomavirus detection in urine samples from male patients by the polymerase chain reaction

Human papillomavirus (HPV) detection was performed using the polymerase chain reaction technique on urine samples from 17 male patients with condylomata acuminata in the meatus urethrae. Urine samples from 14 male laboratory volunteers were analyzed as controls. The DNA was extracted and purified from urine sediments, centrifuged at 1,800 and 100,000 x g, and subjected to 40 cycles of amplification with HPV 6 and HPV 11 type-specific anticontamination primers and the heat-stable Taq DNA polymerase. HPV was detected in the urine of 15 (88%) patients. In all positive patients the urine sediments of both the 1,800 and 100,000 x g centrifugation steps contained HPV DNA. Eight patients were found to be positive for HPV 6 DNA, six were positive for HPV 11 DNA, and one was positive for both HPV 6 and HPV 11 DNA. None of the males in the control group was positive for either HPV 6 or HPV 11 DNA. The results demonstrate that HPV can be transported by the urine, probably in exfoliated HPV-infected cells. A similar mechanism may occur during ejaculation, allowing sexual transmission of HPV viruses harbored in the cells of the male genital tract.