Serologic response to the E4, E6, and E7 proteins of human papillomavirus type 16 in pregnant women

Objective: In a seroepidemiologic study the effects of pregnancy and other factors on humoral response to human papillomavirus type 16 infection were examined. Study Design: Multiple serum samples were taken at 3-month intervals for 15 months from 77 pregnant and 85 nonpregnant women. Serologic response to human papillomavirus type 16 proteins was analyzed with a peptide-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results: Seroreactivity was higher in nonpregnant women than in pregnant women, suggesting a reduced humoral immune response against human papillomavirus infections during pregnancy. Among the pregnant women a twofold to threefold decrease in mean reactivity in the E4 protein-based assay was detected between early gestation and delivery. The presence of human papillomavirus type 16 or 18 deoxyribonucleic acid was significantly associated with reactivity to the E6 protein (p=0.0005) and the E4 protein (p=0.06). Reactivity to the E4 protein also correlated with an abnormal Papanicolaou smear. Conclusions: The observation of changes in humoral response to genital human papillomavirus infections during pregnancy warrants further investigation with highly seroreactive assays.