Cervical cancer (CC) is usually caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV)(Arezzo et al.,2021). Based on studies published between 1995 and 2022, the overall global prevalence of high-risk HPV was 21%('World Health Organization. One in three men worldwide are infected with genital human papillomavirus',2023-09-01). HPV are double-stranded DNA pathogens that infect epithelial cells(Mustopa et al.,2022). Studies have focused on HPV16 and HPV18 subtypes, while relatively little research has been done on HPV52 subtypes(Ramas et al.,2018; Xu et al.,2018). In turn, HPV52 is a vital factor in the progression of cervical erosion. Therefore, an immunoprotective response against HPV52 subtypes is important for a preventive vaccine against cervical cancer and to curb its prevalence in some areas.

The genome of HPV is approximately 8 kb(Timothy et al.,1991). The late gene region (L region) is about 3000 bp long and encodes two viral capsid proteins, of which the L1 capsid protein is the major component of the HPV capsid protein, with a length of about 2500 bp(Roden et al.,1996), accounting for 80%-90% of the total viral capsid protein. It has been shown that HPV L1 prepared by various expression systems can be assembled into virus like particles (VLPs) in vitro(Li et al.,2016). In vitro immunoassays have shown that these VLPs are highly immunogenic and conserved. Therefore, it has become a protein target for HPV vaccine research(Mustopa et al.,2022).

More than 100 countries have included HPV vaccination in their national immunization programmes(Markowitz, Schiller, 2021). Six vaccines have been approved for marketing worldwide. Most vaccines available today are designed based on the HPV major capsid protein L1, which contains specific epitopes recognized by the immune system(Oumeslakht et al.,2021). The study of HPV epitopes has promoted the development of multi-epitope vaccines. The identified epitopes together with appropriate linkers and adjuvants were used to form chimeric structures, so as to design a multi-epitope vaccine against HPV(Sanami et al.,2022).

Although the two most common high-risk HPV infections in cervical cancer population are HPV16 and HPV18, there are still geographical differences in the distribution of HPV subtypes. HPV52 subtype is an important factor causing cervical erosion, so in some areas, the study of immune protection response of HPV52 subtype has a certain guiding role in the containment of CC.

The identification and characterisation of B-cell epitopes will aid in vaccine development, testing of diagnostics and treatment(Mahmoudvand et al.,2022). It was found that the HPV L1 protein is rich in B-cell epitopes(Yokomine et al.,2017). Bioinformatics predictions reveal that B-cell epitopes are scattered between protein structures, mainly in the loop region(Firdaus et al.,2022).Therefore, in our study, mAbs prepared were used to screen for B cell epitopes which enriched the epitope information of L1 protein and promoted the further development of effective vaccine strategies against HPV52.