Abstract
The Current Study aimed to investigate the possible role of Heparanase protein (HPSE-1, [Entrez Pubmed ref|NP_001092010.1|,
heparanase isoform 1 preproprotein [Homo sapiens]) in evolution by studying the phylogenetic relationship and divergence of
HPSE-1 gene using computational methods. The Human HPSE protein sequences from various species were retrieved from
GenBank database and were compared using sequence alignment. Multiple sequence alignment was done using Clustal-W with
defaults and phylogenetic trees for the gene were built using neighbor-joining method as in BLAST 2.2.26+ version. A total of 112
BLAST hits were found for the heparanase query sequence and these hits showed putative conserved domain, Glyco_hydro_79n
superfamily. We then narrowed down the search by manually deleting the proteins which were not HPSE-1. These sequences were
then subjected to phylogenetic analyses using the PhyML and TreeDyn software. Our study indicated that HPSE-1 is a conserved
protein in classes Mammalia, Aves, Amphibia, Actinopterygii and Insecta emphasizing its importance in the physiology of cell
membranes. Occurrence of this gene in evolution with conserved sites strengthens the role of HPSE-1 gene and helps in better
understanding the biochemical processes that may lead to cancer.