Objective: To study the diversities of human B cell epitopes of five proteins (Mpt83, Mpt70, LpqH, PstS3, GroES) in Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates from China.
Methods: We selected 179 strains isolated from patients with tuberculosis in different regions of China, and cultured these strains by L-J medium. The gene sequences of these 5 proteins were amplified and sequenced by PCR. The variations (single nucleotide polymorphisms, SNP) of the DNA sequences were compared and analyzed according to the immune epitope database (IEDB). The synonymous mutation rate (dS), non-synonymous mutation rate (dN) and dN/dS values were calculated with MEGA6 software.
Results: Among the 179 clinical MTBC isolates, 7 SNP mutations were found in the mpt83gene. The dN/dS value of the whole mpt83 gene was 0.88. One SNP mutation was found in the mpt70 gene. The dN/dS values of the whole pstS3 gene and non-B epitopes areas were 1.74 and 1.40 respectively. But no mutation was found in the groES gene.
Conclusion: The mpt83, lpqH and pstS3 genes of 179 MTBC strains contain gene SNPs and human B cell epitopes diversities, while the coding gene and human B cell epitopes of protein mpt70 and groES were conservative.