HUMAN PAPILLOMAVIRUS TYPE-11 TRANSCRIPTS ARE PRESENT AT LOW ABUNDANCEIN LATENTLY INFECTED RESPIRATORY TISSUES

Respiratory tract tissues containing latent human papillomavirus (HPV) 11 were analyzed by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction f or the presence of viral-specific RNA from the early region of the gen ome and compared to a similar analysis of laryngeal papillomas. Latent ly infected tissue contained low-abundance transcripts that could code for El and E2 proteins, but lacked evidence of spliced transcripts fo r the E6 and E7 proteins. Both latently infected tissue and papilloma tissue contained low-abundance antisense transcripts. Cultured cells i nfected with HPV 11 virions or transfected with HPV DNA, and cells der ived from latently infected tissue, expressed transcripts similar to t hose seen in papillomas, but at a lower abundance. We postulate that l atency is determined by the absence of or limiting levels of critical viral proteins. (C) 1995 Academic Press, Inc.