Characterization of Novel Cutaneous Human Papillomavirus Genotypes HPV-150 and HPV-151

The study characterized two novel HPV genotypes, HPV-150 and HPV-151, isolated from hair follicles of immuno-competent individuals. These genotypes were fully sequenced, revealing genomes of 7,436-bp and 7,386-bp, respectively, and were placed within the Betapapillomavirus genus. Both genotypes were found to have a cutaneous tropism and were detected in sporadic cases of common warts and skin cancers, such as SCC and BCC, with low viral loads. HPV-150 was capable of establishing persistent infections in hair follicles. The study also identified a partial L1 sequence of a related novel HPV genotype in a skin cancer sample from an immuno-compromised patient. Quantitative PCR assays were developed to assess the presence of these genotypes, showing that they were relatively rare among the 540 samples tested.