The serological response to human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV16) E6, E7, and L1 proteins was investigated in Italian patients with cervical cancer, cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN), flat cervical warts, condylomas, and in healthy individuals. Bacterially expressed beta-galactosidase fusion proteins were purified and used as antigen in Western blot assays. The HPV16 DNA status was also determined in most of the women. The incidence of antibody response to E6 and E7 proteins was higher in cervical cancer than in CIN patients. No variation of antibody titre against E6 was observed in the cervical cancer patients, while one patient in an advanced stage of disease displayed very high levels of E7 antibodies. High seroprevalence to both E6 and L1 was observed in patients with genital condylomas, but this may be due to cross-reactivity between HPV6 or 11 antibodies and the experimental HPV16 antigens. Antibodies to L1 were detected in control women, suggesting that HPV infection is widespread. The data obtained in this study are in agreement with previous findings in other countries. (C) 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) buffers were optimized for the specific detection of human papillomavirus (HPV) sequences. The effect of pH, potassium chloride concentration and magnesium chloride concentration of three different consensus primers were examined. Several phylogenetically distinct HPVs (HPV1, HPV2, HPV6, HPV8, HPV16, HPV18, and HPV20) were used to determine the optimal buffer components. Genital types were less sensitive to changes in pH than cutaneous types. Higher buffer pH, with a few exceptions, led to increased sensitivity and specificity of HPV detection.