DETECTION OF MUCOSAL HUMAN PAPILLOMAVIRUS TYPES 6 11 IN CUTANEOUS LESIONS FROM TRANSPLANT RECIPIENTS/

Transplant recipients develop multiple cutaneous lesions. We have iden tified human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA in these lesions using three dif ferent techniques, namely polymerase chain reaction (PCR), in situ hyb ridization, and Southern blotting. By PCR, HPV DNA was detected in 43 of 62 samples: warts, actinic keratoses, Bowen's disease, and squamous cell carcinomas. Surprisingly, HPV 6/11, usually associated with muco sa, were frequently found in benign, premalignant, and malignant cutan eous lesions (30/43 cases). Some of these biopsies were simultaneously tested by in situ hybridization and/or Southern blotting. By in situ hybridization, HPV 6 11 were identified in two warts and one squamous cell carcinoma among 29 tissue specimens tested. Of the three samples examined by Southern blotting, HPV 6/11 were detected in one squamous cell carcinoma. In patients from a control population cutaneous biopsi es did not exhibit HPV types 6/11 except in Bowen's disease; HPV types 1 or 2 were mainly found in benign warts. These findings suggest that in transplant recipients, HPV can lose their specificity towards muco sa or cutaneous epithelium. The significance of the presence of HPV 6/ 11 in skin lesions remains unknown.