Prevalence and Genetic Variability in Capsid L1 Gene of Rare Human Papillomaviruses (HPV) Found in Cervical Lesions of Women from North-East Brazil

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence and genetic variability of the capsid L1 gene of rare HPV genotypes that were found in the cervical lesions of women from North-East Brazil. A total number of 263 patients were included in this study. HPV detection was performed using PCR followed by direct sequencing of MY09/11, as well as type-specific PCR to detect the Alpha-9 species. Epitope prediction was performed to determine whether or not the genetic variants are inserted in B-cell and T-cell epitopes. The prevalence of rare HPV types in cervical lesions was found to be 9.47%. The rare HPV genotypes that were detected were HPV-53, 54, 56, 61, 62, 66, 70, and 81. The genetic variability in the L1 gene of rare HPV types involved thirty nucleotide changes, eight of which were detected for the first time in this study. Moreover, some of these variants are embedded in B-cell or T-cell epitope regions. The results of this research suggest that rare HPV types might be involved in cervical lesions and some of these variants can be found in B-cell and T-cell epitopes. Data on the prevalence and variability of rare HPV types will assist in clarifying the role of these viruses in carcinogenesis.