Hydrolyzed FB1 (aminopentol) detection on urine of HPV positive Mexican women: A preliminary study
Abstract Human Papillomavirus (HPV) infection is the most common sexually transmitted disease in humans. About 200 HPV types have been described and classified into high and low oncogenic risk for its ability to transform the cell. Some main risk factors for HPV infection are multiple sexual partners, multiparity and immunosuppression. However, these factors can not completely explain the HPV prevalence in different world regions. Mexico has a high global burden, being important to determine other external biological factors implicated. The infection is mediated by surface receptors of basal stratum cells that bind to the viral capsid entering the cell by endocytosis. Some cell membrane components such as sphingolipids have a role in structure and membrane permeability. Besides, fumonisins are micotoxins structurally very similar to sphingolipids, fumonisin B1 (FB1) is the most abundant and most similar to some sphingolipids such ceramide. Fumonisins are produced by Fusarium fungus, widely distributed in maize, the main component of Mexican diet. Thus, it is possible that FB1 contamination be a factor to permeabilize the membrane expediting the HPV infection. In this preliminary study, we postulated that mechanism of HPV infection is mediated by contamination with FB1, hence, FB1 could be higher in women HPV positive. Urine samples from patients with HPV infection and healthy woman were analyzed by UPLC-MS, hydrolyzed FB1 was found only in the infected women, in contrast, in HPV negative women was not detected. Additional studies are needed to support the hypothesis of contamination with FB1 as biological risk factor for HPV infection.