Serological responses to human papillomavirus type 16 antigens in women before and after renal transplantation

Abstract

Female renal transplant recipients have an increased incidence of human papillomavirus (HPV) associated lesions, such as cervical dysplasia and neoplasia [Schneider et al., 1983]. In this study we tested the serological responses by enzyme-linked immunoadsorbent assays (ELISA) to 3 different antigenic regions of HPV type 16. Sera from 35 female renal transplant patients collected before and at different times, up to 3 years, after transplantation were collected and tested. Before transplantation IgG antibodies against peptide 49, corresponding to the HPV L2 region, were found in 21/35 of the patients' sera. Of the L2 positive sera, 16 also demonstrated activity with the HPV L1 region derived peptide 31. All sera that were active against peptide 31 (L1) were also reactive with peptide 49 (L2). After renal transplantation, the antibody levels against these 2 peptides (peptides 49 and 31) dropped significantly (OD > or = 0.2) in all previously positive sera and remained so throughout the study, which lasted up to 3 years. The proportion of patients with IgA activity against the E2 region (peptide 245), which is common among patients with cervical neoplasia, increased from 9/35 before transplantation to 18/35 after transplantation. In parallel, we monitored 25 of these patients' sera before and after transplantation for antibody activity against measles, adenoviruses, and cytomegaloviruses (CMV). The majority of these sera--17/25 (68%) and 18/25 (72%), respectively--had no titer changes against measles and adenoviruses. Furthermore, the changes in antibody titers observed with CMV in these patients were not correlated with the fate of the antibodies against the HPV peptides.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)