Diversity of human papillomavirus in the anal canal of HIV-positive and HIV-negative men.

Summary Background To characterize the HPV diversity in the anal mucosa of men with different sexual behaviour and HIV status by next-generation sequencing (NGS). Methods Anal swabs from HIV-positive (n=94; mean age, 38 years) and HIV-negative (n=100; mean age, 37.5 years) men who have sex with men (MSM) and HIV-negative men (predominantly men who have sex with women, MSW) (n=99; mean age, 38.2 years) were analysed by broad-spectrum PCR protocols combined with NGS. Findings Alpha HPV types (n=74) were detected mainly in the MSM groups (HPV6, 11, and 43 were the most abundant types) compared with MSW (n=16) (HPV11, 32, and 87 were among the most abundant). In contrast, beta HPVs were more abundantly detected among MSW (n=45) than in the HIV-positive (n=16) and HIV-negative (n=26) MSM groups. Gamma HPVs were detected almost equally in HIV-positive MSM (n=62), HIV-negative MSM (n=58), and MSW (n=57). In addition, 31 putative novel PV types were identified. Conclusions Our data show that beta and gamma HPV types are present in the anal mucosa, thus reinforcing the existing evidence that they can be detected at anatomical sites other than skin. Alpha and beta HPV distribution among these three groups appears to vary according to sexual behaviour.