HPV genotype prevalence in Indian women with cervical disease and estimation of the potential impact of HPV vaccines on prevention of cervical cancer.

PURPOSE: Human papillomavirus (HPV) causes genital and oropharyngeal cancers worldwide. There are significant gaps exist in the data on HPV genotype prevalence in this part of the country. HPV vaccination is one of the best preventive methods available currently. HPV genotyping plays an important role in the selection of appropriate vaccines and monitoring vaccine efficacy and coverage. The present study aimed to determine the HPV genotype prevalence and to estimate the potential impact of HPV vaccines on invasive cervical cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 204 cervical biopsy samples collected from symptomatic women were subjected to an in-house designed and standardised nested multiplex PCR (NM-PCR) assay. The NM-PCR was designed to detect 38 Mucosal HPV types as a pooled result and genotyping of 15 HPV types. Further, the HPV genotype data was used to estimate the HPV vaccine bivalent, quadrivalent and nonavalent impact on the population using a mathematical formula. RESULTS: Out of 204 samples 188 were subjected to HPV-nested PCR. A total of 163 (86.7%) samples were positive for at least one HPV type. Multiple genotypes were identified in 30% of samples processed. HPV-16 (85.3%) was the most frequently detected genotype followed by HPV-18 (13.5%) and HPV-33 (11.0%). Other genotypes were observed less frequently. Based on the HPV prevalence observed in the study a mathematical model estimated the efficacy of bivalent, quadrivalent and nonavalent vaccines were 76.1%, 76.7%, and 91.1% (average) respectively. CONCLUSIONS: HPV-16 was the most prevalent (>85%) genotype detected in this study. Multiple infections observed in 30% of samples were quite high as compared to the majority of national, and global reference (15-25.4%) data. The Mathematical model showed that a nonavalent vaccine would give better protection.

Mutation Analysis of SARS-CoV-2 Variants Isolated from Symptomatic Cases from Andhra Pradesh, India.

There has been a continuous evolution in the SARS-CoV-2 genome; therefore, it is necessary to monitor the shifts in the SARS-CoV-2 variants. This study aimed to detect various SARS-CoV-2 variants circulating in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India. The study attempted to sequence the complete S-gene of SARS-CoV-2 of 104 clinical samples using Sanger's method to analyze and compare the mutations with the global prevalence. The method standardized in this study was able to amplify the complete length of the S-gene (3822 bp). The resulting nucleotide and amino acid mutations were analyzed and compared with the local and global SARS-CoV-2 databases using Nextclade and GISAID tools. The Delta variant was the most common variant reported in the present study, followed by the Omicron variant. A variant name was not assigned to thirteen samples using the Nextclade tool. There were sixty-nine types of amino acid substitutions reported (excluding private mutations) throughout the spike gene. The T95I mutation was observed predominantly in Delta variants (15/38), followed by Kappa (3/8) and Omicron (1/31). Nearly all Alpha and Omicron lineages had the N501Y substitution; Q493R was observed only in the Omicron lineage; and other mutations (L445, F486, and S494) were not observed in the present study. Most of these mutations found in the Omicron variant are located near the furin cleavage site, which may play a role in the virulence, pathogenicity, and transmission of the virus. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the 104 complete CDS of SARS-CoV-2 belonged to different phylogenetic clades like 20A, 20B, 20I (Alpha), 21A (Delta), 21B (Kappa), 21I (Delta), 21J (Delta), and 21L (Omicron).

Molecular Characterization and Identification of Potential Inhibitors for 'E' Protein of Dengue Virus.

Dengue is an arthropod-borne acute febrile illness caused by Dengue Virus (DENV), a member of Flaviviridae. Severity of the infection ranges from mild self-limiting illness to severe life-threatening hemorrhagic fever (DHF) and dengue shock syndrome (DSS). To date, there is no specific antiviral therapy established to treat the infection. The current study reports the epidemiology of DENV infections and potential inhibitors of DENV 'E' protein. Among the various serotypes, DENV-2 serotype was observed more frequently, followed by DENV-4, DENV-1, and DENV-3. New variants of existing genotypes were observed in DENV-1, 2, and 4 serotypes. Predominantly, the severe form of dengue was attributable to DENV-2 infections, and the incidence was more common in males and pediatric populations. Both the incidence and the disease severity were more common among the residents of non-urban environments. Due to the predominantly self-limiting nature of primary dengue infection and folk medicine practices of non-urban populations, we observed a greater number of secondary dengue cases than primary dengue cases. Hemorrhagic manifestations were more in secondary dengue in particularly in the pediatric group. Through different computational methods, ligands RGBLD1, RGBLD2, RGBLD3, and RGBLD4 are proposed as potential inhibitors in silico against DENV-1, -2, -3, and -4 serotypes.