Clinical and Prognostic Significance of Human Papillomavirus DNA in the Sperm or Exfoliated Cells of Infertile Patients and Subjects with Risk Factors

Objective: To evaluate human papillomavirus (HPV) sperm infection and its correlation with sperm parameters in infertile patients and subjects with risk factors.

Design: Cross-sectional clinical study.

Setting: Andrology and microbiology sections at a university hospital.

Patient(s): A cohort of 290 subjects: 26 with genital warts, 66 with HPV positive partners, 108 infertile patients, and 90 fertile controls.

Intervention(s): Semen analysis, sperm culture, polymerase chain reaction, and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) for HPV detection. Statistical analysis was performed with a two-tailed Student's t-test.

Result(s): The prevalence of HPV semen infection found in all groups was as follows: patients with genital warts, 53.8%; infected partners, 40.9%; infertile patients, 10.2%, fertile controls, 2.2%. Infertile patients had a higher HPV DNA prevalence in sperm cells than the other groups. The results of HPV investigation were compared with sperm parameters and the results of FISH analysis. Sperm motility was more frequently reduced in infected samples and in particular when the infection was present in the sperm.

Conclusion(s): This study demonstrated a very high prevalence of infection in the semen of patients with risk factors for HPV. In each group of subjects, HPV seems to be preferentially located in sperm or exfoliated cells, with different effects on sperm motility.