Primary human cervical carcinoma cells require human papillomavirus E6 and E7 expression for ongoing proliferation

Repression of human papillomavirus (HPV) E6 and E7 oncogenes in established cervical carcinoma cell lines causes senescence due to reactivation of cellular tumor suppressor pathways. Here, we determined whether ongoing expression of HPV16 or HPV18 oncogenes is required for the proliferation of primary human cervical carcinoma cells in serum-free conditions at low passage number after isolation from patients. We used an SV40 viral vector expressing the bovine papillomavirus E2 protein to repress E6 and E7 in these cells. To enable efficient SV40 infection and E2 gene delivery, we first incubated the primary cervical cancer cells with the ganglioside GM1, a cell-surface receptor for SV40 that is limiting in these cells. Repression of HPV in primary cervical carcinoma cells caused them to undergo senescence, but the E2 protein had little effect on HPV-negative primary cells. These data suggest that E6 and E7 dependence is an inherent property of human cervical cancer cells.     

Human papillomavirus 8 E6 disrupts terminal skin differentiation and prevents pro-Caspase-14 cleavage

Expression of the betapapillomavirus (betaPV) E6/E7 genes has been shown to impair both keratinocyte differentiation and apoptosis. Especially late-terminal keratinocyte differentiation shares certain aspects with apoptosis, such as fragmentation of DNA and activation of caspases. Here we investigated the disruption of keratinocyte differentiation in organotypic skin (raft) cultures of primary (PHK) and immortalized (N/TERT) human keratinocytes, in particular by human papillomavirus (HPV)8.Immunohistochemical analysis of HPV5 and HPV8 E6/E7-expressing PHK revealed thickening of the rafts and complete absence of stratum corneum formation, even after 18 days of culture. This phenotype was confirmed in N/TERT raft cultures. When expressed separately, the aberrant morphology was observed only in rafts expressing E6, not E7. Immunofluorescence analysis of HPV8 E6 PHK rafts showed an increase in number and size of Filaggrin- and Caspase-14-positive cells in the granular layer. In raft lysates analyzed by western-blot, the presence of pro-Caspase-14 in the differentiated keratinocytes was confirmed, but in the HPV8 E6 rafts none of the Caspase-14 subunits were detected.In conclusion, in the raft system, HPV8 E6 prevented late-terminal keratinocyte differentiation resulting in an accumulation of Filaggrin and pro-Caspase-14-positive cells in the absence of stratification. This differentiation arrest was accompanied by the failure to express Caspase-14 subunits, suggesting absence of Caspase-14 activation and probable abrogation of Filaggrin maturation in HPV8 E6-expressing keratinocytes.     

Phenotypic effects of HPV-16 E2 protein expression in human keratinocytes

Expression of the HPV E2 open reading frame in cervical cancer cells has been shown to affect the expression of both viral and cellular genes. We have examined the phenotypic effects of the expression of human papillomavirus 16 E2 open reading frame in the human keratinocyte cell line HaCaT. Increased levels of apoptotic cell death were seen within 24 h of the transfection of HPV-16 E2 expression constructs. However, in those cells which survived selection and retained the intact E2 ORF, long-term stable expression of E2, as detected by RT-PCR, produced cells which developed phenotypes typical of terminally differentiated cells. These included characteristic morphological changes and expression of involucrin, filaggrin and senescence markers. This provides the first evidence of a role for E2 in stimulation of the normal epithelial differentiation programme, which would promote the progression of the HPV life cycle.     

Human cervical carcinoma cell lines contain an antigen identical to the tumor-specific 75 kDa antigen of HeLa cells: detection by viral acquisition

Purified vesicular stomatitis virus grown in the human cervical carcinoma HeLa cell line, VSV(HeLa), contains a 75 kDa tumor-specific antigen, detectable by immunoblotting of electrophoretically separated proteins with rabbit antiserum made against whole HeLa cells. Nearly identical results were obtained with VSV grown in the tumorigenic human hybrid ESH-5L cells, but not with the matched non-tumorigenic ESH-5E cells. Growth of VSV in 4 other independently isolated human cervical carcinoma cell lines led to the concentration of the same 75 kDa tumor-specific antigen by VSV. Infection of 2 other human cervical carcinoma cell lines did not lead to the detection of this antigen. The expression of the tumor-specific antigen correlated directly with the amount of RNA expression from human papillomavirus integrated in the DNA of these cells, irrespective of whether the papillomavirus was type 16 or 18.     

Novel oligomannose liposome-DNA complex DNA vaccination efficiently evokes anti-HPV E6 and E7 CTL responses

The aim of this study was to establish an efficient human papilloma virus (HPV) type 16-targeting cancer immunotherapy. Persistent high-risk HPV infection causes cervical intra-epithelial neoplasia (CIN) and subsequent cervical carcinoma. HPV type16 (HPV16) is one of the common carcinogenic types and is found in about 50% of invasive cervical carcinomas. HPV16-derived viral proteins E6 and E7 are expressed in cancerous cells through the progression of the disease and have a role in carcinogenesis but are not expressed in normal cells. Thus, these proteins are regarded as ideal antigens for cervical carcinoma immunotherapy. In this study, we generated a novel HPV 16 E6 and E7 gene plasmid containing oligomannose liposomes (OML-HPV). We compared the cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) induction efficiency of OML-HPV and that of standard liposome-HPV16 E6 and E7 DNA complex. HPV16 E6-specific CTLs could be generated from HPV 16-positive cervical carcinoma patient's peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) by stimulating OML-HPV, but could not by stimulating standard liposome-HPV 16 E6, E7 DNA complex. Furthermore, we screened HLA-A24-restricted HPV16 E6- and E7-derived peptides, and found that one E6-derived peptide (E6 66-74) showed the highest immunogenicity with ELISPOT assay from 100% of HPV16-positive patients (4 out of 4). On the other hand, other E6- or E7-derived peptides, including E6 49-57, E6 82-90, E6 87-95, E6 98-106 and E7 83-93, showed less frequent reactivity. These results indicate that OML-HPV is a more effective approach than DNA vaccination using standard liposomes, and that a novel HLA-A24-restricted peptide, E6 66-74, might be a suitable target of cervical cancer immunotherapy.     

PreTect HPV-Proofer: real-time detection and typing of E6/E7 mRNA from carcinogenic human papillomaviruses

Monitoring human papillomavirus (HPV) E6/E7 mRNA expression may provide an accurate and informative diagnostic approach for detection of oncogene activity related to the development of severe dysplasia or cervical carcinoma. A multiplex nucleic acid sequence based amplification (NASBA) assay, utilizing molecular beacon probes for real-time detection was developed for the identification of E6/E7 mRNA from HPV types 16, 18, 31, 33 and 45. The assay is called PreTect HPV-Proofer and this report describes the development and the analytical performance of the assay. The reproducibility of PreTect HPV-Proofer with regard to a positive result was found to be between 96 and 100%, depending on HPV type. The melting temperature for the different molecular beacons was in the range of 48-55 degrees C, indicating conformational stability, i.e. the molecular beacons will not get activated by the 41 degrees C annealing temperature, but will be activated by the annealing to the target itself. The limit of detection for HPV 16 was ten SiHa or CaSki cells and for HPV 18 one HeLa cell. No cross reactivity was observed with E6/E7 mRNA from the other tested HPV types. mRNA from cervical cells was also successfully amplified after more than one year of storage. In conclusion, the PreTect HPV-Proofer assay, individually identifying E6/E7 mRNA expression from five carcinogenic HPV types, is a reproducible assay that may serve as a valuable tool in monitoring HPV infections producing proteins with a transforming potential.     

Mitogen-activated protein kinase p38 defines the common senescence-signalling pathway

BACKGROUND: Cellular senescence is a state of irreversible growth arrest shown by normal cells, and has been most extensively studied in replicative senescence caused by telomere shortening. Several conditions, including oncogenic Ras over-expression and inappropriate culture conditions, also induce senescence without telomere shortening. However, it remains unclear how a common set of senescence phenotypes is indistinguishably induced in various types of senescence. RESULTS: We demonstrate that p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) plays important causative roles in senescent cells following telomere shortening, Ras-Raf activation, oxidative stress or inappropriate culture conditions. By monitoring the kinetics of p38 activation, we suggest that p38 is activated not directly by the initial stimuli, but in response to unidentified cellular conditions caused by these stimuli. Importantly, this p38-activating condition appears to be defined quantitatively as a sum of continuous and low-level stresses, and remains even after the initial stimuli are withdrawn, which may explain the well-known irreversible nature of cellular senescence. We also show that papilloma virus E7 abolishes the p38-induced growth arrest but not other senescence-associated phenotypes, indicating the differential role of pRb in the downstream of p38. CONCLUSION: These results indicate that p38 comprises the senescence-executing pathway in response to diverse stimuli.     

人乳头瘤病毒16型E6E7反义RNA抑制宫颈癌细胞恶性？…

目的 研究癌基因的特异性反义ＲＮＡ对癌细胞生长繁殖和恶性程度的影响。方法 用逆转录病毒载体将人乳头瘤病毒（ＨＰＶ）－６Ｅ６Ｅ７反义ＲＮＡ导入ＨＰＶ－１６ＤＮＡ阳性的宫颈癌细胞株ＣａＳｋｉ中，观察该细胞在导入反义ＲＮＡ后其表型特征和在裸鼠体内致癌能力的变化。结果 ＨＰＶ－１６ Ｅ６Ｅ７反义ＲＮＡ能降低宫颈癌细胞ＣａＳｋｉ的生长速率，抑制其在软琼脂上的集落形成能力，并能明显地抑制其在裸鼠体内的致癌能力     

Initiation of premature senescence by Bcl-2 in hypoxic condition

Senescence, a state of cell cycle arrest, has been regarded as an intrinsic barrier to malignance. Although being repressed in most immortal tumors, the genetic program of senescence can be reactivated by critical regulators, including the apoptosis regulator Bcl-2. We showed here that hypoxic condition resulted in an irreversible senescence-like phenotype with increased expression of Bcl-2 in mouse melanoma B16 cells. In CoCl₂-simulating hypoxic condition, characteristic morphological alterations and increased activity of senescence-associated β-galactosidase (SA-β-gal) can be detected with high level of Bcl-2, which was confirmed by western blot and co-staining of SA-β-gal and Bcl-2 by immunocytochemistry. Accordingly, Bcl-2 silence by specific siRNA ahead of hypoxia treatment interrupted the senescent development. Moreover Bcl-2 overexpression led to early onset of senescence. We propose that Bcl-2 is required to initiate and maintain the senescent phenotype. In addition, p53 and p16 were not involved in hypoxia-induced senescence according to the expression levels during senescent process. These results suggest that when encountering harmful stress (hypoxia), melanoma cells overexpress Bcl-2 and turn to senescence, a permanent cell-cycle arrest, for prolonged survival.     

Integration of human papillomavirus type 16 into cellular DNA of cervical carcinoma: preferential deletion of the E2 gene and invariable retention of the long control region and the E6/E7 open reading frames

The integration patterns of human papillomavirus (HPV) type 16 in the cellular DNA of six cervical carcinoma samples were analyzed by the Southern blot procedure. None of the HPV integrants retained the entire viral genome. Double HPV integration was found in one case while all other cases were single integrants. In some samples, internal deletion and selective amplification of the viral sequences were observed. On integration, the E2 open reading frame (ORF) was invariably lost but the E6/E7 ORFs and the long control region of the HPV-16 genome were retained in all seven integrations analyzed and may play a role in cellular transformation and/or maintenance of the transformed phenotype.     

Hypoxia-induced senescence contributes to the regulation of microenvironment in melanomas

Senescence, an irreversible state of cell cycle arrest, maintains metabolic activity. Although being a barrier against tumor development, senescence could also promote tumor progression by influencing the microenvironment. Necrosis is a common feature of various malignant tumors, which also has two opposing effects: pro-tumor by chronic inflammation and anti-tumor by effective cell clearance. However, the role of senescence in melanoma and whether it is associated with necrosis remain unclear. By detecting senescence-associated β-galactosidase activity and pimonidazole (hypoxia probe), we found that senescent cells (SA-β-gal positive) are mainly located around the necrotic/hypoxic areas of melanoma from C57BL/6J mice. Moreover, treatment of hypoxia induced irreversibly cellular senescence in vitro. In addition, the senescent cells may facilitate microenvironment modulation and promote the invasion of melanoma cells by secreting matrix metalloproteinase-2(MMP-2). Moreover, Kaplan–Meier analysis showed that the presence of necrosis in melanomas had an inverse correlation with patient survival and may serve as an independent prognostic marker. Therefore, hypoxic stress imposed on melanomas may lead to cellular senescence surrounding necrotic areas, and the adverse effects of necrosis in tumor may be attributed to the adjacent senescent cells with senescence-associated secretion phenotype (SASP), including secretion of MMP-2.     

宫颈癌患者外周血中的人乳头瘤病毒16型E6及E7蛋白特异性致敏淋巴细胞的检测

本研究证明进展期宫颈癌患者10/37例和10/46例外周血中分别存在有HPV16 E6和E7蛋白致敏的淋巴细胞,而40例献血员中分别为12.5％(5/40)和17.5％(7/40)。46例中有17例和25例分别进行了宫颈癌组织中的HPV16E6和E7基因序列检测,E6蛋白致敏淋巴细胞阳性的6例中检出与未检出E6序列的各占3例,E7蛋白致敏淋巴细胞阳性的5例中有3例未检出,有2例检出E7序列。     

Isolation of cellular revertants from a rat cell line transformed by the E6 and E7 genes of human papillomavirus type 16.

Three revertants defective in the ability to form colonies in semisolid medium were isolated from a rat cell line transformed by the E6 and E7 genes of human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV16). These revertants appeared to be defective in a cellular factor(s) necessary for transformation by HPV16-E6E7 genes since they still expressed a comparable amount of HPV16-E6E7 mRNA and E7 protein to the parental cells, harbored rescuable transforming virus, and were resistant to retransformation by HPV16-E6E7 genes. All these reverted phenotypes of the three mutants were recessive on somatic cell hybridization with normal cells, because all the hybrids showed transformed phenotypes.     

人乳头瘤病毒16型E6和E7基因特征分析

目的 对北京15例宫颈癌病变组织中的人乳头瘤病毒(HPV)16型E6和E7基因进行扩增及序列测定,分析E6和E7基因突变特征,并探讨宫颈癌病变中HPV16的感染情况.方法 自行设计HPVl6型E6和E7基因扩增引物,采用PCR法扩增15例宫颈癌组织中HPV16 E6和E7片段,将PCR产物克隆到TA载体,进行序列测定.通过Sequencer、Bioedit、Mega等生物学软件对E6和E7基因进行核苷酸和氨基酸序列分析.结果 15例宫颈癌中8例鳞癌检出E6和E7基因,检出率为8/15.2例腺癌、1例腺鳞癌和其他4例鳞癌中均未检出HPV16 E6E7 DNA.8例鳞癌中的4例检出的HPVl6为亚洲类似株,在E6基因178位(T→G,D25E)和E7基因647位(A→G,N29S)发生突变;另外4例为欧洲类似株,其中1例(BJ16)的HPV16在E6基因335位点发生突变(C→T,H78Y).结论 HPV16是致宫颈癌的重要因素;宫颈鳞状细胞癌HPV16感染的发生频率较腺癌和腺鳞癌高;E6基因178位点可能是区分亚洲株和欧洲株的重要位点;E6基因178位点和E7基因647位点是突变频率较高的位点,可能导致HPV16致癌能力发生改变.