1. ¹Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Medical School of Novara, Novara, Italy
2. ²Department of Public Health and Microbiology, Medical School of Turin, Turin, Italy
3. ³NoToPharm S.r.l, Bioindustry Park del Canavese, Colleretto Giacosa (TO), Italy
4. ⁴Institute of Virology, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
5. ⁵Infection and Cancer Program, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
6. ⁶San Gallicano Dermatological Institute IRCCS, Rome, Italy

Correspondence: Dr Marisa Gariglio, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Medical School of Novara, Via Solaroli 17, Novara 28100, Italy. E-mail: gariglio@med.unipmn.it

Received 18 March 2008; Revised 4 September 2008; Accepted 7 September 2008; Published online 16 October 2008.

Abstract

Epidermodysplasia verruciformis (EV) is a rare disease, characterized by cutaneous warts and associated with a strong predisposition to -genus human papillomavirus (HPV). Earlier studies reported high copy numbers of HPV-DNA in nearly all skin tumors from EV patients, but neither HPV replication status in non-lesional skin nor anti-HPV seroreactivity in these patients have been reported yet. We therefore performed a comprehensive viral load analysis for the more common -HPV types on skin samples and plucked eyebrow hairs from four EV patients treated at our dermatology department. The results clearly demonstrate that they carry a multiplicity (up to eighteen types) of -HPV genotypes in both skin sites. Worthy of note, a high intrapatient concordance for specific types between hair bulbs and skin biopsies was observed and the same -PV profile was maintained over time. Viral load analysis revealed a load range between less than one HPV-DNA copy per 100 cells to more than 400 HPV-DNA copies per cell in both eyebrow hairs and skin proliferative lesions. Evaluation of seroreactivity to -HPV types in the four EV patients revealed that antibodies against the 16 -HPV were significantly more prevalent and showed higher titers than in the controls.