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Serologic response to the E4, E6, and E7 proteins of human papillomavirus type 16 in pregnant women
S Sethi1, M Müller, A Schneider
1Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, Heidelberg, Germany.
Objective:
In a seroepidemiologic study the effects of pregnancy and other factors on humoral response to human papillomavirus type 16 infection were examined.
Study Design:
Multiple serum samples were taken at 3-month intervals for 15 months from 77 pregnant and 85 nonpregnant women. Serologic response to human papillomavirus type 16 proteins was analyzed with a peptide-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.
Results:
Seroreactivity was higher in nonpregnant women than in pregnant women, suggesting a reduced humoral immune response against human papillomavirus infections during pregnancy. Among the pregnant women a twofold to threefold decrease in mean reactivity in the E4 protein-based assay was detected between early gestation and delivery. The presence of human papillomavirus type 16 or 18 deoxyribonucleic acid was significantly associated with reactivity to the E6 protein (p = 0.0005) and the E4 protein (p = 0.06). Reactivity to the E4 protein also correlated with an abnormal Papanicolaou smear.
Conclusions:
The observation of changes in humoral response to genital human papillomavirus infections during pregnancy warrants further investigation with highly seroreactive assays.