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Microbes & Immunity Phylogenetic analysis of HPV16 L1 in Asia

Migratory movements, particularly from conflict- Author contributions
affected and resource-limited regions, may contribute to the
spread and genetic diversification of HPV strains. Large- Conceptualization: Ugur Bilge, Hossein Ashrafi, Muharrem
Okan Cakir
scale population displacements can introduce distinct viral Formal analysis: Ugur Bilge, Rana Ozdogan
variants into new geographical areas, potentially altering Investigation: Ugur Bilge, Rana Ozdogan, Muharrem Okan
HPV epidemiology. Studies on viral transmission dynamics Cakir
suggest that increased migration-driven genetic exchange Methodology: Ugur Bilge, Rana Ozdogan, Muharrem Okan
may impact HPV stability, necessitating continuous Cakir
genomic surveillance to monitor emerging sequence Writing – original draft: Rana Ozdogan
variations that could affect vaccine efficacy. Writing – review & editing: All authors

Overall, the findings from this study underscore
the importance of specific residues in maintaining the Ethics approval and consent to participate
structural and functional integrity of the L1 protein. The Not applicable.
observed variations, particularly those with significant
hydropathy index differences or positive substitution Consent for publication
scores, may have implications for viral entry mechanisms Not applicable.
and host interactions. Future studies incorporating
structural modeling and functional assays are essential Availability of data
to validate these findings and elucidate their biological Data are available on request from corresponding author.
significance. In addition, expanding metadata collection
for uploaded sequences would enhance the ability to References
correlate phylogenetic relationships with clinical and 1. World Health Organization (WHO). Sexually Transmitted
epidemiological data, providing a more comprehensive Infections (STIs). Available from: https://www.who.int/news-
understanding of HPV-16 evolution and its implications room/fact-sheets/detail/sexually-transmitted-infections-
for vaccine efficacy and disease prevention. (stis) [Last accessed on 2023 Nov 28].

5. Conclusion 2. The Papillomavirus Episteme. Available from: https://pave.
niaid.nih.gov/index [Last accessed on 2023 Nov 23].
This study highlights the genetic diversity and evolutionary 3. Nelson CW, Mirabello L. Human papillomavirus genomics:
trends of the HPV-16 L1 capsid protein in Asia. Despite Understanding carcinogenicity. Tumour Virus Res. 2023;15:200258.
regional sequence variations, critical residues necessary doi: 10.1016/j.tvr.2023.200258
for viral entry remain highly conserved, reinforcing
their functional importance. Phylogenetic clustering 4. International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). List
revealed distinct grouping among sequences from Japan of Classifications. IARC Monographs on the Identification of
Carcinogenic Hazards to Humans. Available from: https://
and Pakistan, emphasizing the need for region-specific monographs.iarc.who.int/list-of-classifications [Last
genomic surveillance. Our findings contribute to a deeper accessed on 2023 Nov 28].
understanding of HPV-16 evolution and have potential
implications for vaccine efficacy and public health 5. Bruni L, Albero G, Serrano B, et al. Human Papillo-mavirus
and Related Diseases in the World. ICO/IARC Information
strategies. Future research should focus on functional Centre on HPV and Cancer (HPV Information Centre); 2023.
assays and structural modeling to further assess the impact Available from: https://hpvcentre.net [Last accessed on
of identified variations. 2023 Nov 28].

Acknowledgments 6. Goetschius DJ, Hartmann SR, Subramanian S, Bator CM,
Christensen ND, Hafenstein SL. High resolution Cryo EM
None. analysis of HPV16 identifies minor structural protein L2
and describes capsid flexibility. Sci Rep. 2021;11:3498.
Funding doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-83076-5

None. 7. Kajitani N, Schwartz S. Role of viral ribonucleoproteins in
human papillomavirus type 16 gene expression. Viruses.
Conflict of interest 2020;12(10):1110.
The authors declare that they have no competing interests. doi: 10.3390/v12101110

Volume 2 Issue 2 (2025) 62 doi: 10.36922/mi.8410