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Biochemical and functional interactions of human papillomavirus proteins with polycomb group proteins

Margaret E McLaughlin-Drubin1, Karl Munger

  • 1Division of Infectious Diseases, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, 181 Longwood Avenue, MCP 861, Boston, MA 02115, USA. mdrubin@rics.bwh.harvard.edu

Viruses
|May 16, 2013
PubMed

Insights

Polycomb repression pathways are crucial for suppressing cancer by halting cell growth. Human papillomaviruses (HPVs) evade this, altering gene expression and potentially aiding cancer development.

Area of Science:

  • Molecular Biology
  • Epigenetics
  • Cancer Research

Background:

  • Polycomb repressive complexes are key regulators of gene transcription and act as tumor suppressors via oncogene-induced senescence.
  • Viruses like human papillomaviruses (HPVs) can disrupt this senescence pathway to establish persistent infections.
  • Disruption of polycomb repression and evasion of senescence lead to altered epigenetic programs, including aberrant homeobox gene expression.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the role of enzymes in polycomb repression in human cancer.
  • To understand how viral infections, specifically HPVs, interfere with oncogene-induced senescence.
  • To explore the implications of altered epigenetic programs in virus-associated and non-virus-associated cancers.

Main Methods:

  • Review of existing literature on polycomb repression in human cancer.
  • Analysis of mechanisms by which human cancer viruses abrogate oncogene-induced senescence.
  • Examination of epigenetic alterations, specifically homeobox gene expression, in HPV-infected cells and other human cancers.

Main Results:

  • Polycomb repressive complexes are vital for innate tumor suppression through oncogene-induced senescence.
  • Human cancer viruses, including HPVs, possess strategies to inhibit polycomb repression and evade senescence.
  • HPV infection results in altered epigenetic programs, characterized by aberrant homeobox gene expression, mirroring changes seen in other human cancers.

Conclusions:

  • Inhibition of polycomb repression and evasion of oncogene-induced senescence by viruses like HPV contribute to cancer development.
  • Aberrant homeobox gene expression in HPV-infected cells represents a significant epigenetic alteration.
  • These viral-induced epigenetic changes are relevant to non-virus-associated human cancers and hold potential for diagnostic and therapeutic applications.

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