Polymorphism of TP53 gene and the risk of high human papillomavirus load in cervical epithelial cells

Abstract

BackgroundCervical cancer is mostly caused by persistent human papillomavirus infection. Host genetic variables, such as polymorphisms, may play a role in the development of cervical cancer and may be a risk factor for HPV-induced carcinogenesis. AimsTo investigate the association between TP53 Pro72Arg polymorphism and the high HPV loads in cervical epithelial cells of women older than 30 years. Subjects and methods154 women infected with HPV and 156 healthy women were recruited into a case–control study. Total DNA was isolated from scrapings of epithelial cells from the cervical canal. Genotyping of the TP53 Pro72Arg polymorphism was carried out using allele-specific PCR. Quantitative analysis of human papillomavirus DNA was performed by the AmpliSens®HPV HCR screen- titre-FRT test system. ResultsNo statistically significant difference was detected between allele and genotype frequencies (p = 0.54 and p = 0.67 respectively) in either women with a medium viral load (3–4 log HPV genomes per 100 thousand human cells) or the control group. The frequencies of the ТР53 Arg72 allele and ТР53 72Arg/Arg genotype were significantly higher in women with a high viral load (above 4 log HPV genomes per 100 thousand human cells) than in the control group (OR = 2.36, p = 0.001 and OR = 2.63, p = 0.002 respectively). The ТР53 Pro72 allele and ТР53 72Pro/Pro genotype are associated with a decreased risk of high HPV load group (OR = 0.42, p = 0.001 and OR = 0.14, p = 0.002 respectively). ConclusionThe risk of developing a high viral load in cervical epithelial cells is associated with the TP53 72Arg allele and the TP53 72Arg/Arg genotype in HPV-positive women.