The use of the polymerase chain reaction for the detection of human papillomavirus type 13.

Human papillomavirus type 13 (HPV-13) is associated with oral focal epithelial hyperplasia (FEH). The purpose of this study was to establish conditions for the application of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to the specific detection and amplification of HPV-13 DNA. To design primers for HPV-13 a part of the HPV-13 genome was sequenced first: the smallest BamHI fragment (597 bp) of HPV-13 was subcloned and sequenced. The sequence was found to be part of a large open reading frame and had significant homology with the L1 gene of other HPVs. HPV-13 specific primers were designed to amplify a 240 bp fragment from the L1 gene by PCR. Conditions for PCR were standardized for this set of primers.