Distribution of human papillomavirus type 16 variants in human immunodeficiency virus type 1-positive and -negative women

Abstract

The prevalence of human papillomavirus type 16 E6 variant lineages was characterized in a cross-sectional study of 24 human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV)-positive and 33 HIV-negative women in New Orleans. The European prototype was the predominant variant in the HIV-negative women (39·4 %), while in the HIV-positive women the European 350G variant was predominant (29·1 %). In exact logistic regression models, HIV-positive women were significantly more likely to harbour any variant with a nucleotide G-350 mutation compared with HIV-negative women [58·3 % vs 21·1 %; adjusted odds ratio (AOR)=6·28, 95 % confidence interval (CI)=1·19–46·54]. Models also revealed a trend towards increased prevalence of Asian–American lineage in HIV-positive women compared with HIV-negative women (25·0 % vs 6·0 %; AOR=6·35, 95 % CI=0·77–84·97). No association was observed between any variant and cytology or CD4 cell counts or HIV-1 viral loads. These observations reflect a difference in the distribution of HPV-16 variants among HIV-positive and -negative women, indicating that HIV-positive status may lead to increased prevalence of a subset of variants.