Evaluation of combined general primer-mediated PCR sequencing and type-specific PCR strategies for determination of human papillomavirus genotypes in cervical cell specimens.

A strategy combining human papillomavirus general primer (mainly the PGMY primers)-directed PCR sequencing and type-specific PCR is presented. DNA samples were first tested in general primer-mediated PCR. The amplified fragments of positive samples after ethidium bromide-stained DNA gel analysis were further sequenced, and corresponding DNA samples were further analyzed by PCR using type-specific primers for human papillomavirus (HPV) types 16, 18, 31, and 52. The comparison of the results of 157 samples analyzed by this strategy in parallel with the Hybrid Capture 2 tests and with the HPV INNO-LiPA (Innogenetics line probe assay) shows that this method is suitable for HPV detection and genotyping in cervical cell samples. Although the PCR sequencing method is as sensitive as the HPV INNO-LiPA for HPV detection, our method allows the identification of a broader range of HPV types. In contrast, the HPV INNO-LiPA was less time-consuming and better identified coinfections.