[Detection of E2 gene polymorphism of human papillomavirus type 16 in patients with cervical lesions and cervical cancer].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the incidence of human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV16) infection in patients with cervical diseases and analyze E2 gene mutations and its correlation with cervical lesions. METHODS: Specific primers were designed according to the full-length E2 gene sequence of HPV16 from the GenBank. PCR was used to analyze the incidence of HPV16 infection in the exfoliated cell samples from 379 patients with different cervical diseases positive for high-risk HPV. The polymorphisms of E2 gene of HPV16 were analyzed by high-resolution melting. RESULTS: Of the 379 exfoliated cell samples from the cervix, 78 were positive for HPV16 infection. The positivity rates of HPV16 infection was 44.8% in patients with cervical cancer, 31.5% in patients with CIN II-III, 24.1% in patients with CIN I and 9.6% in patients with cervical inflammation. The frequencies of E2 gene 68C and 133G variations were significantly higher in patients with CIN II-III and those with cervical cancer than in those with CIN I and those with cervical inflammation (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: HPV16 is an important cause of cervical cancer, and HPV16 infection rate increases with the pathological progression of the cervical lesions. The naturally occurring sequence variations of HPV16 E2 gene may cause alterations of the carcinogenic potential of the virus.