RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: Human papillomavirus (HPV) is associated with cervical cancer. For the infection to occur, most HPV types depend on interactions with heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPGs); however, non-HSPGs receptors are also involved. Laminin 332 is a crucial component of the epidermis's base membrane. It has shown interactions with HPV that suggest its function as a transient viral receptor in the extracellular matrix (ECM). We provide new information about Laminin 332 and HPV by identifying LAMA3 gene allelic variants from exons 30 and 31 and their distribution among women with and without HPV infection. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We included 192 cervical cancer scrape samples from two groups of patients, 96 samples from patients with a low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (LSIL) and 96 samples from HPV-negative samples without LSIL. Identification of the HPV type was performed using an LCD-Array kit. Exons 30 and 31 of LAMA3 were amplified by PCR and analyzed by Sanger's sequencing. RESULTS: We identified a wide range of HPV types. The most frequent low-risk (lrHPV) HPV types were 6, 42, 44, and 90. For high-risk (hrHPV) HPV were 16, 31, 56, and 66. Only the genetic variant rs1131521 was identified in both groups. However, no significant association was observed between rs1131521 and the study groups. CONCLUSIONS: A single silent polymorphism was identified in both groups with similar frequency, whereas no mutations related to increased epithelial friability were identified.