Use of mutational pattern in 5′-NCR and VP1 regions of polioviruses for molecular diagnosis

Polioviruses are members of the enterovirus genus, belonging to the Picornaviridae family. They are the causative agents of poliomyelitis, a paralytic and sometimes fatal disease in humans. The number of poliomyelitis cases caused by wild poliovirus infections has been dramatically reduced by the extensive use of two available vaccines: the inactivated poliovirus vaccine (IPV) and the oral poliovirus vaccine (OPV). Despite the importance of OPV in the reduction of poliomyelitis cases, one of the disadvantages associated with this vaccine is the rare occurrence of vaccine-associated paralytic poliomyelitis (VAPP) in vaccinees or their healthy contacts through the accumulation of mutations and/or recombination in Sabin strains genome. Thirteen clinical isolates originating from healthy vaccinees and VAPP cases were investigated in order to identify genomic modifications in 5′ non-coding region (5′-NCR) and VP1 genomic regions. The analysis of samples was conducted by RT-PCR, RFLP, sequencing and bioinformatics analysis. All clinical isolates were characterized as OPV-like viruses. Our results showed that analysis of 5′-NCR and VP1 regions of Poliovirus Sabin strains is important in order to identify mutations that increase the neurovirulence conducting to the eventuality of emergence of VAPP cases.