PREVALENCE OF HPV INFECTION IN PATIENTS WITH MALE ACCESSORY GLAND INFECTION

Introduction. Male accessory gland infection (MAGI), a potential cause of male infertility, is classified in microbial and inflammatory. Evaluation of a viral etiology, and among this HPV infection, is not recommended in the clinical practice, as also shown by the low number of items in the literature. Aim. This study was, therefore, undertaken to evaluate the frequency of HPV infection in the semen of patients with MAGI. Patients. One hundred (consecutively enrolled) infertile patients with a diagnosis of MAGI (WHO 1993 criteria) (mean age 32.0±6.0 years; BMI 23.0±4.0) were classified in: Group A: with an inflammatory form of MAGI (n=48) and group B: with a microbial MAGI (n=52). Healthy age-matched fertile men (34.0±4.0 years) made up the control group (n=20). Methods. Semen samples were divided into two aliquots and kept at -20°C until use. An automated DNA extraction was performed with 1 ml of sample on the NucliSens easyMAG system (bioMérieux SA, Marcy l’Etoile, France) following the manufacturer’s HPV 1.1 protocol, with a final elution volume of 55 μl. Amplification of HPV DNA was performed by HPV-HS Bio (AB Analytical Srl, Padoa, Italy) nested PCR for the detection of HPV DNA sequences within the L1 ORF. To verify the efficiency of the DNA extraction, the housekeeping gene thiosulfate sulfurtransferase (TST) was amplified too. Samples negative for TST were considered inadequate and a new sample was requested. Results. Overall, patients with MAGI had a significantly higher frequency of HPV infection compared to controls (25% vs. 10%, p<0.001). Group A: 10 patients had HPV infection: 3 with genotype 6; 3 with genotype 56; 3 with genotypes 16, 18 and 66; and 1 with genotypes 16 and 18. Group B: 15 patients had HPV infection: 6 with genotype 6; 5 with genotype 56; 3 with genotypes 16, 18 and 66; and 1 with genotypes 16 and 18. Among controls, 2 men (10%) with HPV infection were identified (1 with genotype 3; 1 with genotype 6). Patients with microbial MAGI had a significantly higher frequency of HPV infection compared to patients with an inflammatory form (28.9% vs. 20.8%, p<0.05). Discussion: These data showed an elevated frequency of HPV infection in patients with MAGI. Therefore, HPV infection should be included in the in the diagnostic work out of the patients with MAGI.