ALMEIDA, Ana Carolina Rodrigues Cavalcante.
Resumo:
HR-HPV infections are the major risk factor in the etiopathogenesis of cervical cancer, causing morbidity that affects more than 80% of the population in developing countries. HPVs 16 and 18 are considered high oncogenic risk (HR HPV) and are widely distributed in northeastern of Brazil. Its biology of infection has been extensively studied. However, molecular analyzes of the HPV18 E5 gene are still scarce, but extremely relevant because they play an important role in the onset and progression of the lesions, making it an excellent target for molecular studies. The aim of this work was to analyze the genetic variability of HPV18 E5 gene sequences deposited in the NCBI and PaVE database. We studied nine variants of the 18E5 gene, designated AY262282, EF202146, EF202147, EF202151, GQ180787, EF202155, KC470225, EF202152, KC470229. The variability analyzes were conducted with the aid of the MEGA6 program and the identification of the immunogenic epitopes and the secondary structure of the protein were carried out with the help of the IEDB and PsiPred programs, respectively. We observed 09 nucleotide substitutions, of which 04 were non-synonymous and 05 synonymous. The hydrophobic nature of the protein was maintained as well as the preservation of the structure of the 18E5 oncoprotein. The major immunogenic epitopes listed are part of the HLA-A class (MHC-I), which may be useful in the development of immunotherapeutic strategies.