HPV acute infection dynamics in the vaginal ecosystem

Summary

Human papillomaviruses (HPV) are among the most oncogenic infectious agents known to humans. They are responsible for almost all cervical cancers and a significant fraction of other cancers (e.g. anal or oropharyngeal). Most genital HPV infections are “acute”, i.e. not persistent. Yet, our knowledge of the early stages of infection remains limited. The PAPCLEAR clinical study promoted by the CHU of Montpellier followed 149 young women for a median duration of 290 days. It was designed to study the course of HPV infections and, more generally, the vaginal ecosystem. We followed variations in HPV viral loads, immune cells counts, and cytokines in the cervical region, along with the composition of the vaginal microbiota and circulating anti-HPV antibodies. By combining these longitudinal data with mathematical and statistical models, we obtained a unique description of HPV infection kinetics. Further analyses are ongoing to study virus mutations and vaginal microbiota dynamics. These results may have important implications for epidemiology and evolution of HPVs in the context of mass vaccination.