IDENTIFICATION OF GENOMIC SEQUENCES OF 3 NOVEL HUMAN PAPILLOMAVIRUS SEQUENCES IN CERVICAL SMEARS OF AMAZONIAN INDIANS

During examination of cervical smears from 180 American Indian patients from the Amazon, 3 of 26 samples that were positive for human papillomavirus (HPV) infection by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) did not hybridize with DNA probes to 19 different genital HPV types. The nucleotide sequences of these clones, LVX82, LVX100, and LVX160, confirmed their origin from HPV genomes. They were distinct from all presently known genital HPV types because each sequence differed by >10% compared with their closest relatives, HPV-39, HPV-61, and HPV-62. Thus, these three clones were derived from viruses that would qualify as new HPV types should their complete genomes be isolated. It was hoped that these clones would represent HPV types endemic to America's aboriginal populations; however, corresponding studies detected related HPV genomes in non-Indian populations of Brazil, North America, and Southeast Asia.