Molecular cloning and characterization of the DNA of two papillomaviruses from monkeys

Benign and malignant lesions from monkeys were analyzed for the presence of papillomavirus (PV) DNA. By hybridization with different PV DNA probes under conditions of lowered stringency, two tumors were found to contain PV-specific DNA sequences: (1) a cutaneous papilloma from a Colobus monkey; and, (2) a lymph node metastasis of a squamous cell carcinoma of the penis from a Rhesus monkey. Analysis of the DNA of the papilloma from the Colobus monkey indicated the presence of extrachromosomal DNA whereas analysis of DNA from the Rhesus tumor suggested the presence of integrated viral DNA. The physical size (7.8 and 8.1 kb), colinear alignment to HPV-5, and cross-hybridization with other PV types under low stringency indicate that the two genomic DNA clones represent new PV types that have been tentatively designated as Rhesus papillomavirus type 1 (RhPV 1) and Colobus guereza papillomavirus type 2 (CgPV 2). A putative viral-host DNA junction fragment was also isolated from the Rhesus genomic library. Nucleotide sequences very closely related to RhPV 1 were observed by in situ hybridization in a laryngeal carcinoma from the Colobus guereza monkey. This report communicates the finding of novel papillomaviruses associated with a benign cutaneous tumor and genital and laryngeal malignancies in non-human primates which may have significance as a putative system for the study of papillomavirus-induced genital and laryngeal malignancies in humans.