HPV placental infection, cervical smear and HPV status  - relations to adverse pregnancy outcomes  including pre-eclampsia (3503) — YRD
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HPV placental infection, cervical smear and HPV status  - relations to adverse pregnancy outcomes  including pre-eclampsia (3503) (3509)

Celia J Devenish 1 , Noelyn A Hung 1 , Sonya Cameron 1 2 , Tania Slatter 3
  1. Univeristy Otago Dunedin Hospital, Dunedin Otago, New Zealand
  2. Women Health, University Otago, Wellington, NZ
  3. Department of Pathology, Dunedin Otago, New Zealand

To date, over 170 different types of HPV have been identified (2).  Over the past several decades, the understanding of HPV infection has increased dramatically.  Most HPV research has been concerned with high-risk HPV and cervical cancer, and less research regarding pregnancy outcomes, especially where HPV is found in the placental bed (decidua) and placental villi.  Using a range of histological techniques (immunohistochemistry for L1 viral capsid, in situ hybridization to high-risk HPV DNA, PCR, western blotting, and electron microscopy), we have confirmed the presence of HPV in the placenta and decidua of women (n=339) at the time of  birth (3).

The presence of HPV in the placenta was significantly associated with fetal growth restriction, preterm delivery, and pre-eclampsia (P<0.05). In the Otago placenta Study (OPuS), all pre-eclampsia cases identified were HPV positive. Recent studies suggest HPV exposure during pregnancy is associated with an increased risk of pre-eclampsia. HPV genotyping has now been completed to further elucidate the specific subtypes present in HPV positive pre-eclampsia placentas.

Data relating to prior vaccination status, maternal cervical smear history and maternal peripheral blood HPV DNA will be presented and implications discussed. On-going research from OPuS a case-control of n>1000 placentas, will further elucidate mechanisms underlying the apparent effects of  HPV as well as the potential benefits of HPV quadrivalent and nonavalent vaccines on pregnancy outcomes.


  1. de Sanjose S, Diaz M, Castellsague X, et al. Worldwide prevalence and genotype distribution of cervical human papillomavirus DNA in women with normal cytology: a meta-analysis. Lancet Infect Dis 2007;7(7):453-9. doi: 10.1016/s1473-3099(07)70158-5.
  2. de Villiers EM, Fauquet C, Broker TR, Bernard HU, zur Hausen H. Classification of papillomaviruses. Virology 2004;324(1):17-27. doi: 10.1016/j.virol.2004.03.033.
  3. Slatter TL, Hung NG, Clow WM, Royds JA, Devenish CJ, Hung NA. A clinicopathological study of episomal papillomavirus infection of the human placenta and pregnancy complications. Mod Pathol 2015;28(10):1369-82. doi: 10.1038/modpathol.2015.88.