Characterization of human papillomavirus type 13 from focal epithelial hyperplasia Heck lesions.

Focal epithelial hyperplasia Heck lesions of a Turkish patient were shown to contain papillomavirus-specific DNA, which was molecularly cloned into bacteriophage lambda. It proved to be related to human papillomavirus (HPV) type 6 DNA and HPV type 11 DNA. Reassociation kinetics revealed a cross-hybridization of 4 and 3%, respectively. There was no cross-reactivity with HPV type 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, or 10. This papillomavirus type will be referred to as HPV type 13. The DNA was characterized by cleavage with several restriction enzymes, and the cleavage sites were physically mapped. Papules from two additional cases of Morbus Heck contained HPV type 13 DNA as shown by Southern blot hybridization and by the characteristic cleavage patterns. This may indicate that HPV type 13 is more frequently associated with focal epithelial hyperplasia Heck than are other HPV types.