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Human papillomavirus (HPV) types from the Betapapillomavirus (β-HPV) genus are plentiful in non-melanoma skin cancers and warts among Caucasians, but there is paucity of information among black Africans. To determine the frequency of β-HPV genotypes in cutaneous infections among Black Zimbabweans, a cross-sectional study was carried out in which blood samples and skin biopsies were collected from patients infected and uninfected with HIV attending a referral hospital. We included 144 participants (72 infected and 72 uninfected with HIV) with clinically apparent cutaneous warts (n = 34), suspected non-melanoma skin cancers (n = 98) and Kaposi sarcoma (KS) (n = 18). The skin biopsies were analyzed for HPV DNA presence and type. β-HPV DNA was identified among 70% (101/144) and was significantly higher among patients infected with HIV, 79% (57/72) compared to the HIV uninfected 61% (44/72) [OR = 2.42, 95% CI (1.09-5.47), P = 0.018]. All patients with warts, 89% of those with KS and 58% of those with non-melanoma skin cancers were HPV DNA positive and β-HPV type 14 was identified in nearly half of the study participants 49.3% (71/144). Single HPV infections were observed in 33.7% (34/101) of the participants that were HPV DNA positive, 66.3% (67/101) had multiple HPV types. There was no significant difference between patients infected and uninfected with HIV in terms of multiple HPV infections. The distribution of different HPV types did not reveal any association with age and gender but there was an association between HPV 14 and HIV immune status. β-HPVs are not uncommon among the Black Zimbabweans with skin lesions., (© 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Introduction: There is growing evidence that polymorphisms in chemokine and chemokine receptor genes influence susceptibility to HIV infection and disease progression. However, not much is documented about the prevalence and effects of chemokine and chemokine receptor gene variations in the Zimbabwean population despite the high burden of HIV/AIDS in the country. This study therefore describes polymorphisms in CCR2, CX3CR1, SDF1 and RANTES genes in a Zimbabwean pediatric population and their effects on HIV infection in children born to HIV-infected mothers., Methodology: A total of 106 children between seven and nine years of age comprising 70 perinatally exposed to HIV (34 born infected [EI] and 36 born uninfected [EU]) and 36 unexposed and uninfected (UEUI) controls were recruited. Six allelic variants in four genes were genotyped using PCR-RFLP and sequencing., Results: Frequencies for minor alleles in the HIV uninfected groups (EU and UEUI) were CCR2 190A (16%), SDF1 801A (2%), CX3CR1 745A (9%), CX3CR1 839T (0%), RANTES In 1.1C (20%), and RANTES -403A (44%). There were significant differences between the EI and EU groups in the distribution of CCR2 190G/A genotype (15% versus 39%, respectively, p = 0.02) and CCR2 190G/A-CX3CR1 745G/G genotype combination (0% versus 33%, respectively, p = 0.002)., Conclusions: Our findings suggest that chemokine and chemokine receptor gene variants seem to play an important role in the dynamics of HIV infection and could be used as drug or vaccine targets.

Human herpes virus 8 (HHV 8) is recognized as the necessary cause of Kaposi sarcoma (KS) and in the recent past the human papillomavirus (HPV) has been linked to the development of cutaneous basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas. In a cross sectional study investigating Beta-HPV infections in skin lesions, an unexpected occurrence of HPV DNA was found in KS lesions of HIV infected individuals. Of the 18 KS cases included in the study 16 (89%) had HPV DNA detected. The most common Betapapillomavirus types were HPV14 [15 cases (83.3%)], HPV12 [8 cases (44.4%)], and HPV24 [7 cases (39%)]. Multiple Beta-HPV types were detected in 10 (62.5%) of the participants with HPV DNA positive lesions; of these 7 had a CD4+ count below 350 cells/µl and 3 had CD4+ counts above 350 cells/µl. The presence of Beta-HPV DNA in KS lesions is a newly described phenomenon. Further studies to elucidate the role of Beta-HPV in KS need to be conducted as it is possible that HHV 8 may not be the solitary viral carcinogen in KS tumorigenesis., (© 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)