Cytokines and chemokines levels in primary HPV infection: a pilot study

The purpose of the study was to compare cytokines (CK) and chemokines concentrations in blood and cervico-vaginal samples between human papillomavirus (HPV)-positive and HPV-negative women, who had no previous history of HPV infection. A case-control study compares the activity and the concentration of CK/chemokines between 19 HPV-positive and 22 HPV-negative women matched by age. Plasma and cervico-vaginal levels of CK and chemokines were measured using cytofluorimetric analysis and expressed as mean of percentages. Plasma rates of interleukin (IL)-6 were significantly greater in HPV-negative women (mean value of 5.20±4.79 pg/ml) in comparison with HPV-positive women (mean value of 2.57±3.09 pg/ml) (p = 0.001). On the contrary, plasma levels of Eotaxin and hMCP-1 were significantly higher in HPV-positive women, with a mean value of 13.87±4.54 pg/ml (p = 0.022) and 53.53±19.51 pg/ml (p = 0.005), respectively. Differences in cervico-vaginal CK/chemokines concentrations were statistically not significant. Difference in plasma concentrations of IL-6, Eotaxin, IL-1β and hMCP-1 was statistically significant even by analyzing HPV-16/18 and multiple HPV genotypes infections. Primary HPV infection shows a characteristic pattern of plasma CK/chemokines concentration as opposed to HPV-negative subjects and persistent HPV infection. Keywords: chemokines; cytokines; HPV primary infection; plasma pattern.