Spardy, Nicole Ann
(2009)
THE HUMAN PAPILLOMAVIRUS TYPE 16 E7 (HPV-16 E7) ONCOPROTEIN AND THE HOST CELL DNA DAMAGE RESPONSE.
Doctoral Dissertation, University of Pittsburgh.
(Unpublished)
Abstract
High-risk human papillomaviruses (HPVs), such as HPV-16, are the etiological agents of squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) of the anogenital tract and a subset of oropharyngeal cancers. High-risk HPVs encode two oncoproteins, E6 and E7, which promote unscheduled host cell proliferation by targeting the p53 and pRB tumor suppressor proteins, respectively. HPV-16 E7 has been shown to stimulate structural chromosomal instability and DNA breakage. These findings raise several important questions. First, how does HPV-16 E7 induce DNA damage? Second, what are the precise consequences of HPV-16 E7-induced DNA damage for host cell genomic integrity, and lastly, how do HPV-16 E7-expressing cells maintain proliferation despite activated DNA damage checkpoints? Here, we show that HPV-16 E7 activates the Fanconi Anemia (FA) pathway, a branch of the host cell DNA damage response that primarily responds to stalled DNA replication forks. Importantly, we show that HPV-16 E7 expression in FA-deficient cells accelerates the formation of structural chromosomal alterations, which may help to explain the heightened susceptibility of FA patients to HPV-associated tumors. However, we also provide evidence that HPV-16 E7-induced FA pathway activation in FA-proficient cells may contribute to evasion of anti-proliferative host cell barriers by promoting alternative lengthening of telomeres (ALT). Finally, we demonstrate that HPV-16 E7 circumvents DNA damage checkpoint control and promotes aberrant mitotic entry by increasing the proteolytic turnover of claspin, which plays a role in the ATR/CHK1-mediated replication stress response. Collectively, our results underscore that HPV-16 E7 interferes with host cell genome integrity by inducing DNA replication stress. The detrimental effects of HPV-16 E7 on the genomic integrity of host cells with a deficient FA pathway support the notion that this DNA damage response pathway is crucial to prevent HPV-16 E7-induced genomic instability and malignant progression. However, we also provide evidence that HPV-16 E7 can exploit the FA pathway to promote cellular immortalization. Future experiments to explore these events for cancer therapy and/or prevention are warranted.
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Details
| Item Type: |
University of Pittsburgh ETD
|
| Status: |
Unpublished |
| Creators/Authors: |
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| ETD Committee: |
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| Date: |
7 August 2009 |
| Date Type: |
Completion |
| Defense Date: |
14 May 2009 |
| Approval Date: |
7 August 2009 |
| Submission Date: |
5 August 2009 |
| Access Restriction: |
5 year -- Restrict access to University of Pittsburgh for a period of 5 years. |
| Institution: |
University of Pittsburgh |
| Schools and Programs: |
School of Medicine > Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics |
| Degree: |
PhD - Doctor of Philosophy |
| Thesis Type: |
Doctoral Dissertation |
| Refereed: |
Yes |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: |
DNA damage; genomic instability; Human papillomavirus |
| Other ID: |
http://etd.library.pitt.edu/ETD/available/etd-08052009-121401/, etd-08052009-121401 |
| Date Deposited: |
10 Nov 2011 19:57 |
| Last Modified: |
15 Nov 2016 13:48 |
| URI: |
http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/8915 |
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