Abstract
Background: Human papillomaviruses (HPVs) are members of the Papillomaviridae family, characterized by circular, double-stranded DNA. They exhibit strict tropism, infecting either mucosa or skin. The role of HPV in the etiology of psoriasis remains unclear. Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the presence of alpha human papillomavirus in the skin scrapings of patients with psoriasis and its genotype distributions. Methods: The study employed a cross-sectional design and included 53 psoriasis patients and 47 healthy controls from December 2020 to May 2021. After DNA isolation from skin scrapings, the L1 gene region of HPV was amplified using MY09/11 and GP5 +/6 + consensus primer sequences. The HPV genotypes were determined through direct DNA sequence analysis of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) products. Results: HPV DNA was detected in 34% of psoriasis patients and 29.8% of healthy individuals. Among the patients, HPV18 was found in 11.1%, HPV31 in 38.9%, and HPV81 in 50%. In the healthy individuals, HPV31 was found in 7.1% and HPV81 in 92.9%. HPV DNA was detected in 31.8% of patients who received psoralen UV-A (PUVA) treatment and 35.5% of those who did not. High-risk (HR) HPV18 was identified in two patients (28.6%) within the group treated with PUVA. Conclusions: There is a potential risk for psoriasis patients who receive lifelong immunosuppressive treatment in the case of persistent infections with the HR oncogenic types (HPV18 and HPV31) of alpha HPVs identified in this study. The high prevalence of low-risk HPV81 in healthy individuals suggests that alpha HPVs might occur as members of the normal skin flora without causing cutaneous lesions in healthy skin.
Published Version
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