Patent ID: 7135281

Claim:
A method of diagnosing a precancerous lesion resulting from a mucosal papilloma virus infection in an organism, the method comprising detecting vegetative mucosal papilloma viral DNA replication in a sample of cells from said organism as indicated by mucosal papilloma virus-E4 protein expression, wherein the detection of said virus-E4 protein comprises the steps of: contacting in vitro a sample of the organism's cells from the site of potential infection with a molecule that binds specifically to mucosal papilloma virus-E4 protein; and monitoring said binding, wherein specific binding by said molecule to mucosal papilloma virus-E4 protein indicates the presence of mucosal papilloma virus-E4 protein expression and the detection of vegetative mucosal papilloma viral DNA replication, thereby indicating a precancerous lesion resulting from a mucosal papilloma virus infection in an organism.