Frequency of HPV infection and GSH levels in plasma of women with cervical dysplasia.

Human papillomavirus (HPV) can be a cause of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) and cervical cancer. The level of antioxidant compounds in plasma (retinol, alfa-tocoferol, vitamins C and E, glutathione) can modulate the progression of latent HPV infection to subclinical lesions and CIN. Our studies show that in the cases of HPV infection glutathione (GSH) content decreased, but glutathione disulfide (GSSG) levels increased. The quantitative GSH/GSSG ratio reflects the above changes of both peptides which, the more distinct, the greater the pathological changes in the uterine cervix.