Development and Validation of a Detection Method for a Broad Range of Human Papillomavirus Types
SourceHuman papillomaviruses (HPVs) are viruses that are almost unique in their tropism for human skin cells; they also have the potential to cause severe pathology. These viruses present a significant risk to contaminate tissue engineered skin replacement products that use human-derived skin cells as part of their manufacture. Eight pairs of primers and appropriate DNA oligonucleotide probes were designed from a relatively conserved region of the LI open reading frame of HPV. TaqMan® PCR using these primer/probe sets was found to be capable of detecting HPV-DNA in a background of cellular material likely to be present in skin replacement products. The assay is more sensitive than any currently described in the scientific literature and can be completed in a single working day making it suitable for testing the short shelf life that many of these products have.