Immune reactions in epidermodysplasia verruciformis

Serum antibodies against human papilloma virus have been measured using immunodiffusion and enzyme linked immunosorbent assay in twelve patients with epidermodysplasia verruciformis (EV). The results were compared with those from sixty-six patients with other types of human papilloma virus diseases. Antibody prevalences were slightly lower in patients with EV than in the control patients. More remarkable was the difference between EV patiens and control subjects in tests of non-specific cell-mediated immunity, which was markedly depressed in the majority of patients with EV, but in the main preserved in patients with common warts. No specific immunological parameter was shown to be associated with malignant conversion of EV lesions, but malignancy was linked to the character of the inducing virus, and particularly to HPV type 5.