HPV Detection on Lung Interstitium Through Bronchoalveolar Lavage (BAL) in Patients from City Recife, Pernambuco-Brazil

Abstract

Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) is a non-invasive tool that allows direct sampling of the lung interstitium, facilitating cytological, microbiological, and molecular analyses. The Human Papillomavirus (HPV), known for its oncogenic role mainly in the genital regions, also can be found in the lungs, but its pathological implications remain poorly elucidated. This study aims to identify the presence of HPV-DNA in patients with suspected lung diseases through BAL. A cross-sectional and analytical study was carried out involving 146 patients admitted to hospitals in the Metropolitan Region of Recife. To detect HPV DNA, 46 samples were processed using PCR technique with MY09/11 consensus primers, followed by Nested-PCR with GP5/6 primers. The presence of HPV-DNA was confirmed in 4 (8.69%) samples, all benign and suspected of interstitial diseases. These findings indicate the feasibility of detecting HPV in the lung interstitium by BAL using Nested-PCR and suggest a new perspective in understanding the presence of HPV in lung tissue. In addition, to corroborating the statement that HPV is not limited to tissue and malignant samples, offering a new methodological dimension to the HPV investigation on lung.