Detection of human papillomavirus in pterygium and conjunctival papilloma by hybrid capture II and PCR assays

Abstract

Aim To elucidate the putative role of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection in pterygium and conjunctival papilloma.MethodsHybrid capture II (HC-II) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays were performed to detect HPV in pterygium (42 samples obtained from 40 patients) and conjunctival papilloma (8 samples from 6 patients). The amount of HPV DNA was evaluated by measurement of relative light units (RLUs) on a luminometer.ResultsAll papilloma samples were positive for HPV DNA by PCR and HC-II. The RLU values for specimens of recurrent and re-recurrent papilloma were markedly higher than those for specimens of primary lesions. HPV was detected by PCR in 2 of 42 (4.8%) Β-globin-positive pterygium specimens, whereas HC-II showed that HPV was negative in all pterygium samples.ConclusionsOur results support the hypothesis that HPV DNA is associated with the pathogenesis of conjunctival papilloma, but not pterygium. RLU measurement by HC-II may serve as a marker for evaluating the activity of HPV in conjunctival tumours. © 2008 Macmillan Publishers Limited All rights reserved.