{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,30]],"date-time":"2026-07-30T16:00:17Z","timestamp":1785427217392,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":42,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"7","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,24]],"date-time":"2026-06-24T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1782259200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100019018","name":"Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Initiative for Innovative Medicine","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["2021-I2M-1-004"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2021-I2M-1-004"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100019018","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"award":["2021-I2M-1-004"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2021-I2M-1-004"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/02drdmm93","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"Yunnan Revitalization Talent Support Program-Top Physician Project","award":["XDYC-MY-2022-0056"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["XDYC-MY-2022-0056"]}]},{"name":"Basic Research in Yunnan Province","award":["202401AY070001-043"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["202401AY070001-043"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Microorganisms"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Human papillomavirus type 53 (HPV53) is one of the most prevalent HPV genotypes in China, frequently detected in cervical intraepithelial neoplasia and cervical cancer, yet remains outside the coverage of all currently available prophylactic vaccines and is relatively understudied. This study performed a comprehensive analysis of HPV53 clinical infection profiles, genomic diversity, and T-cell epitopes to inform therapeutic vaccine development. Clinical analysis of 158 HPV53-positive patients showed that infections were most prevalent in women aged 40\u201359 years, with persistent infection identified in 13.3% participants and a subset of cases associated with cervical lesions. Genomic analysis of 134 HPV53 isolates identified four lineages (A-D, with lineage D further subdivided into four sublineages, and an overall nucleotide variability of 4.4%. E2 was the most variable protein while E7 was the most conserved. Immunoinformatic prediction identified 176 HLA class I-restricted T-cell epitopes across E6, E7, E1, and E2, from which 20 candidates were selected for experimental validation. Ten demonstrated strong HLA binding affinity in vitro, and murine immunization identified a E6 peptide VYNFAYTDL as an immunodominant epitope. Three validated epitopes exhibited sequence overlap with 12 to 13 of other 13 high-risk HPV genotypes, suggesting their potential as broadly cross-reactive targets. These findings clarify the genomic diversity and immunogenic epitope landscape of HPV53, providing a foundation for the rational design of therapeutic vaccines.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/microorganisms14071395","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,25]],"date-time":"2026-06-25T01:03:56Z","timestamp":1782349436000},"page":"1395","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Genetic Variation of HPV53 and the Identification of T-Cell Epitopes"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Li","family":"Wang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Medical Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Kunming 650118, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sudan","family":"Jiao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Medical Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Kunming 650118, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sihan","family":"Lan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Medical Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Kunming 650118, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yuxiao","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Medical Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Kunming 650118, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jing","family":"Yu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Peking University Cancer Hospital Yunnan, Yunnan Cancer Hospital, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming 650118, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jie","family":"He","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Peking University Cancer Hospital Yunnan, Yunnan Cancer Hospital, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming 650118, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0009-0787-1427","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Hongping","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Peking University Cancer Hospital Yunnan, Yunnan Cancer Hospital, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming 650118, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Min","family":"Feng","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Medical Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Kunming 650118, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,24]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e2537","DOI":"10.1002\/rmv.2537","article-title":"Human Papillomavirus Infection: Epidemiology, Biology, Host Interactions, Cancer Development, Prevention, and Therapeutics","volume":"34","author":"Wolf","year":"2024","journal-title":"Rev. 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