DETECTION AND TYPING OF HUMAN PAPILLOMAVIRUSES BY IN-SITU HYBRIDIZATION WITH BIOTINYLATED OLIGONUCLEOTIDE MIXTURES

The value of biotinylated oligonucleotide probes for screening and typ ing by in situ hybridization of the most frequent genital human papill omavirus infections (HPVs 6, 11, 16, 18, 31, and 33) was assessed. Opt imal hybridization conditions were defined on a panel of paraffin-embe dded tissue sections previously characterized with HPV full genome pro bes. Mixtures of oligonucleotides rather than single oligonucleotides were used to improve sensitivity and specificity. All HPV-positive spe cimens were detected by the screening mixture with a sensitivity and s pecificity similar to that of full genome probes. Typing mixtures were highly specific for each HPV type. This study confirms the potential of oligonucleotide probes for detecting and typing HPV infections. (C) 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.