A rapid method for the screening and typing of high risk HPVs using molecular biology techniques

To date over 60 different human papilloma virus (HPV) types have been described and novel HPV genomes are still being identified. The identification and taxonomy of papilloma viruses has become increasingly complex However, some types, especially HPV-16, -18 and to a lesser extent HPV-31 and -33, which are found in a high proportion of invasive cervical cancers and their metastases, are classified as high risk types For preventive reasons it is important to identify and classify the different HPV types in clinical specimens. Many of the methods used until recently are cumbersome. In this paper we use molecular biology techniques which permit a rapid screening and typing of high risk HPVs in clinical specimens. The screening procedure is based on the very sensitive method of polymerase chain reaction. Using a set of general primers derived from the E1 open reading frame, which anneal to a large variety of human papilloma virus DNA, we can classify samples into positive or negative for the presence of HPV sequences in a single step. The typing of the high risk HPV types is achieved by restriction enzyme analysis using the endonuclease Alu I which cleaves each high risk HPV type at different sites, thus permitting the easy identification of each type after agarose gel electrophoresis.