Detection and typing of human papillomaviruses by in situ hybridization with biotinylated oligonucleotide mixtures.

The value of biotinylated oligonucleotide probes for screening and typing by in situ hybridization of the most frequent genital human papillomavirus infections (HPVs 6, 11, 16, 18, 31, and 33) was assessed. Optimal hybridization conditions were defined on a panel of paraffin-embedded tissue sections previously characterized with HPV full genome probes. Mixtures of oligonucleotides rather than single oligonucleotides were used to improve sensitivity and specificity. All HPV-positive specimens were detected by the screening mixture with a sensitivity and specificity similar to that of full genome probes. Typing mixtures were highly specific for each HPV type. This study confirms the potential of oligonucleotide probes for detecting and typing HPV infections.