Abstract

PURPOSE
To examine the distribution of HPV 16 E6 polymorphisms and analyse the possible association between the polymorphisms and cervical cancer development in Korean women.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Fifty-four cases of uterine cervical tissues containing HPV 16 DNA confirmed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) from Korean women were subjected to investigate the E6 gene mutations. PCR-amplified products were sequenced by the fluorescent dideoxy ter mination method and the results obtained from sequencing were analysed. And newly designed PASA method was tried to develop rapid test for identification of the most commonly detected variation.
RESULTS
Among the 27 cervical cancer cases, only two (7.4%) was found as a prototype. Among 11 kind of variants identified in total, 4 variants (5 nucleotide sites) which were never reported before has been found, registered firstly to GenBank. The most frequently found variation was D25E, absolutely different from the previous reports from the western country. There was no statistically significant trend for the D25E variation to be more frequently detected in cancerous lesions than in noncancerous lesions. All of the DNA sequencing results observed could be confirmed by PASA method.
CONCLUSION
These results suggest that Korean-specific genetic factors might operate during the cervical carcinogenesis.

• Keywords: Human papillomavirus;HPV 16;E6 gene;Polymorphism