Detection of anti-HPV11-L1 antibodies in immune sera from patients suffering from recurrent respiratory papillomatosis using ELISA.

Infection with human papillomaviruses (mostly HPV6 and HPV11) may lead to recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (RRP), a chronic disease affecting 2-4/100,000 people. Papillomas have to be removed surgically so patients can breathe normally. Papillomas often grow back and some patients are subjected to a number of operations. In general, asymptomatic HPV-positive people have low levels of antiviral antibodies in their sera, as the human humoral response is weak due to HPV's biology. In patients suffering from RRP who have undergone multiple surgeries, a blood-epithelium barrier breach stimulates the production of anti-HPV antibodies. Our study's aim was to produce HisTag-HPV11-L1 major capsid protein in E. coli cells, and to purify it. We also sought to detect anti-HPV11-L1 antibodies in antisera obtained from RRP patients using ELISA. Clinical samples were collected from 47 patients with RRP (antisera and papillomas), and from 32 controls (sera and oral swabs), from the Wielkopolska region of Poland. Antisera and control sera were used to coat microplates, HisTag-HPV11-L1 antigen was applied, and antibody-antigen complexes were detected by anti-HisTag monoclonal antibody in an ELISA assay. Simultaneously, total cellular DNA was extracted from papillomas and oral squamous cells obtained from controls. All DNA samples were screened for HPV DNA using MY-PCR. All patients were HPV-positive (30% for HPV6 and 70% for HPV11). Statistically significant correlations were found between the amount of anti-HPV11-L1 antibodies in the sera of RRP patients and the number of surgical procedures they underwent. Although HPV virus-like particles are most often used for anti-HPV antibody detection, the ELISA method presented herein is another viable option for use in RRP patients.