Prediction of antigenic sites on ALS1 and HWP1 protein sequences in vaginal isolated C. albicans of using bioinformatics analysis

Background and Aim: The ability to predict antigenic sites on proteins is of major importance for medication. The aim of this study was to predict the antigenic sites on Agglutin in Like Sequence (ALS1) and Hyphal Wall Protein Sequences (HWP1) in Candida albicans isolated of vaginal infections using Physico-Chemical Profiles server. Materials and Methods: 7 isolates were obtained from women with vaginal infection which were collected from various medical centers of Tehran in 2011 and 2012. At the first,DNA was extracted by Phenol-Chloroform method. Multiplex PCR was performed by using specific primers. In order to do bioinformatic studies, the genes were sequenced and then translated. Antigenic sites of protein sequences were identified by Physico-Chemical Profiles program. Results: The results showed that the presence of two genes als1 and hwp1 in isolates. In ALS1 and HWP1, respectively 2 and 1 antigenic site with the most antigenicity were identified. Conclusions: According to previous studies, Serine and Threonine phosphorylation is an important mechanism in pathogenesis of ALS1 and HWP1 proteins. Results in this study showed that serine and threonine are the most amino acids in the antigenic sites with high antigenicity property.