Maternal HPV-antibodies and seroconversion to HPV in children during the first 3 years of life

Analogies between HPV Behavior in Oral and Vaginal Cavity: Narrative Review on the Current Evidence in the Literature

Human genital papilloma virus infection is the most prevalent sexually transmitted infection in the world. It is estimated that more than 75% of sexually active women contract this infection in their lifetime. In 80% of young women, there is the clearance of the virus within 18-24 months. In developed countries, oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is now the most frequent human papilloma virus (HPV)-related cancer, having surpassed cervical cancer, and it is predicted that by 2030 most squamous cell carcinomas will be the HPV-related rather than non-HPV-related form. However, there are currently no screening programs for oral cavity infection. While the natural history of HPV infection in the cervix is well known, in the oropharynx, it is not entirely clear. Furthermore, the prevalence of HPV in the oropharynx is unknown. Published studies have found wide-ranging prevalence estimates of 2.6% to 50%. There are also conflicting results regarding the percentage of women presenting the same type of HPV at two mucosal sites, ranging from 0 to 60%. Additionally, the question arises as to whether oral infection can develop from genital HPV infection, through oral and genital contact or by self-inoculation, or whether it should be considered an independent event. However, there is still no consensus on these topics, nor on the relationship between genital and oral HPV infections. Therefore, this literature review aims to evaluate whether there is evidence of a connection between oral and cervical HPV, while also endorsing the usefulness of the screening of oral infection in patients with high-risk cervical HPV as a means of facilitating the diagnosis and early management of HPV-related oral lesions. Finally, this review emphasizes the recommendation for the use of the HPV vaccines in primary prevention in the male and female population as the most effective means of successfully counteracting the increasing incidence of OSCC to date.

Human Papillomavirus Concordance Between Parents and Their Newborn Offspring: Results From the Finnish Family Human Papillomavirus Study

BACKGROUND

The knowledge on vertical human papillomavirus (HPV) transmission is limited. We aimed to determine whether HPV transmission from parents to their offspring occurs before or during birth.

METHODS

Altogether, 321 mothers, 134 fathers, and their 321 newborn offspring from the Finnish Family HPV study cohort were included. Parents' genital and oral brush samples and semen samples were collected for HPV testing at baseline (36 weeks of pregnancy). Oral, genital, and umbilical samples from the newborn and placenta samples were collected for HPV testing immediately after delivery. HPV risk for the newborn was calculated from the mother's and father's HPV status by using logistic regression analyses.

RESULTS

Concordances between mothers' and their newborns' HPV genotype at any site were statistically significant with HPV-6, -16, -18, -31, and -56; odds ratios (ORs) ranged from 3.41 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.80-6.48) for HPV-16 to 634 (95% CI, 28.5-14 087) for HPV-31. Father-newborn HPV concordance was statistically significant with HPV-6 and HPV-31 (ORs, 4.89 [95% CI, 1.09-21.9] and 65.0 [95% CI, 2.92-1448], respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

The genotype-specific HPV concordance between parents and their newborn is suggestive for vertical HPV transmission. However, transmission from the father to the newborn remains more uncertain.

HLA-G Alleles Impact the Perinatal Father-Child HPV Transmission

The host factors that influence father-to-child human papillomavirus (HPV) transmission remain unknown. This study evaluated whether human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-G alleles are important in father-to-child HPV transmission during the perinatal period. Altogether, 134 father-newborn pairs from the Finnish Family HPV Study were included. Oral, semen and urethral samples from the fathers were collected before the delivery, and oral samples were collected from their offspring at delivery and postpartum on day 3 and during 1-, 2- and 6-month follow-up visits. HLA-G alleles were tested by direct sequencing. Unconditional logistic regression was used to determine the association of the father-child HLA-G allele and genotype concordance with the father-child HPV prevalence and concordance at birth and during follow-up. HLA-G allele G*01:01:03 concordance was associated with the father's urethral and child's oral high-risk (HR)-HPV concordance at birth (OR 17.00, 95% CI: 1.24-232.22). HLA-G allele G*01:04:01 concordance increased the father's oral and child's postpartum oral any- and HR-HPV concordance with an OR value of 7.50 (95% CI: 1.47-38.16) and OR value of 7.78 (95% CI: 1.38-43.85), respectively. There was no association between different HLA-G genotypes and HPV concordance among the father-child pairs at birth or postpartum. To conclude, the HLA-G allele concordance appears to impact the HPV transmission between the father and his offspring.

An HPV-Vaccinated Patient With Human Papillomavirus-Positive Oropharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma

This case report describes an extremely early-onset case of human papillomavirus–positive oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma in a Norwegian woman in her early 20s.

Peripheral Blood T-lymphocyte Phenotypes in Mother-Child Pairs Stratified by the Maternal HPV Status: Persistent HPV16 vs. HPV-Negative: A Case-Control Study

Only few studies exist on the phenotype distribution of peripheral blood lymphocytes concerning persistent oral HPV infection. T-lymphocyte subsets were phenotyped in women who had persistent genital or oral HPV16 infection, using HPV-negative women as a reference group. A subset of 42 mothers and their children (n = 28), were stratified into two groups according to the mothers' HPV status. PBMCs from previously cryopreserved venous samples were immunophenotyped by flow cytometry. Proportions of the CD4⁺ or CD8⁺ lymphocytes by their immunophenotype subsets were compared between HPV-positive and -negative mothers and their children. The mean rank distribution of CD8⁺ memory cells was significantly higher among mothers with persistent genital HPV16 infection. The median levels of both the antigen-presenting CD4⁺ cells and activated CD8⁺ cells were significantly lower in mothers with persistent oral HPV16 infection. When oral and genital HPV16-persistors were analyzed as a group, a marker of terminal effector cells was significantly increased as compared to HPV-negative women. Significantly higher levels of activated CD4⁺, CD8⁺ and circulating CD8⁺ memory cells were found among children whose mothers had persistent oral HPV16 infection. Persistent HPV16 infections are associated with changes in peripheral blood T-lymphocyte subsets. The mother's persistent oral HPV16 infection possibly results in immune alterations in her offspring.