Association Between BoLA-DRB3.2 Polymorphism and Bovine Papillomavirus Infection for Bladder Tumor Risk in Podolica Cattle

Blood samples from 260 unrelated cattle (132 animals affected by papillomavirus-associated bladder tumors and 128 healthy) were genotyped using the classic polymerase chain reaction/restriction fragment length polymorphism method to screen MHC class II bovine leukocyte antigen-DRB3. 2 polymorphism. The DRB3*22 allele was significantly (p <= 0.01) detected in healthy cattle, thus appearing to have a negative association (protective effect) with virus infection of the urinary bladder known to represent a bladder tumor risk for cattle living free at pasture. Considering the two sequence alleles identified in animals carrying DRB3*22, DRB3*011:01 allele from samples of animals harboring the unexpressed bovine papillomaviruses (BPV)-2 E5 gene was characterized by amino acid residues believed to have a protective effect against BPV infection such as arginine at position 71 (R-71) in pocket 4, histidine at position 11 (H-11) in pocket 6, and both glutamine at position 9 (Q(9)) and serine at position 57 (S-57) in pocket 9 of the antigen-binding groove. The DRB3*011:02v allele from affected animals was characterized by amino acids believed to be susceptibility residues such as lysine (K-71), tyrosine (Y-11), glutamic acid (E-9), and aspartic acid (D-57) in these pockets. These results suggest that animals harboring the DRB3*011:01 allele may have a lower risk of BPV infection and, consequently, a reduced risk of bladder tumors.

Automated summary

The study showed that the DRB3*22 allele in healthy cattle may have a protective effect against bladder tumors associated with papillomavirus infection. Animals carrying the DRB3*011:01 allele were found to have a lower risk of BPV infection and potentially a reduced risk of bladder tumors.