Abstract: Qi Bei, Zhang Xiaohua, Chen Qinfang, Yang Xifang, Gu Heng, Ju Mei. Institute of Dermatology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Jiangsu Province Key Laboratory, Nanjing 210042, China Corresponding author: Ju Mei, Email: jumeiweng@163.com 【Abstract】 Objective To analyze the correlation between polymorphisms at position 4 and 14 in exon 2 of the p73 gene and susceptibility to human papillomavirus （HPV） infection. Methods Tissue specimens were obtained from the lesions of 83 patients with condyloma acuminatum and 11 patients with bowenoid papulosis, and blood samples from all the patients as well as 150 health checkup examinees with high risk for sexually transmitted diseases （STDs） at STD clinics （negative control group）. PCR was performed to detect HPV DNA in lesional tissue specimens, followed by direct sequencing and nucleotide alignment using the BLAST program for the determination of HPV genotypes. To assess polymorphisms at position 4 and 14 in exon 2 of the p73 gene, DNA was extracted from all the blood samples, and the p73 gene was amplified by PCR with the primer shP73 followed by gene sequencing. The association between the polymorphisms and susceptibility to HPV infection was analyzed. Results Of the 83 tissue specimens from patients with condyloma acuminatum, 42.2% （35/83） were positive for HPV 6, and 41.0% （34/83） for HPV 11. Among the 11 tisssue specimens from bowenoid papulosis lesions, 5 were positive for HPV 16, and 3 for HPV 6. The p73 gene was successfully amplified and sequenced from all the patients with condyloma acuminatum or bowenoid papulosis as well as from 132 out of 150 health checkup examinees. There were three genotypes at position 4 and 14 in exon 2 of the p73 gene, including A4T14/G4C14, A4T14/A4T14, G4C14/G4C14, of which, A4T14/A4T14 was associated with a higher risk for condyloma acuminatum （OR 4.89, 95% CI 1.50 － 15.91） as well as bowenoid papulosis（OR 7.11, 95% CI 1.144 － 44.20）, and G4C14/G4C14 with a lower risk for bowenoid papulosis （OR 0.16, 95% CI 0.04 － 0.65）, in patients with HPV infection. Conclusions The A4T14 allele in exon 2 of the p73 gene increases the risk for bowenoid papulosis and condyloma acuminatum, but no significant correlation is found between the susceptibility to high- or low-risk HPV infection and polymorphisms at the two positions in the p73 gene.

Key words: Condylomata acuminata, Bowenoid papulosis, Alphapapillomavirus, Polymorphism, genetic, p73 gene