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Dangerous Liaisons: Long-Term Replication with an Extrachromosomal HPV Genome
Alix Warburton1, Ashley N Della Fera1, Alison A McBride1
1Laboratory of Viral Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
Viruses
|September 28, 2021
Summary
Human papillomaviruses (HPVs) cause infections, but oncogenic HPV can lead to cancer. This study details how HPV DNA interacts with host cells, potentially causing integration and cancer.
Area of Science:
- Virology
- Molecular Biology
- Oncology
Background:
- Papillomaviruses establish persistent epithelial infections.
- Oncogenic human papillomaviruses (HPVs) are linked to cancer development.
- The viral genome exists as a nucleoprotein complex, a minichromosome.
Purpose of the Study:
- To elucidate the viral DNA's fate throughout the HPV life cycle.
- To understand the mechanisms by which HPV DNA integrates into the host genome.
- To explore the link between viral DNA integration and carcinogenesis.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of viral DNA dynamics during infection.
- Investigation of host DNA replication, repair, and transcription pathways utilized by HPV.
- Examination of viral-host chromatin interactions.
Main Results:
- HPV DNA replicates at low copy number using host machinery during initial infection.
- Viral DNA replication escalates during host cell differentiation by hijacking DNA repair pathways.
- Close association between viral and host chromatin facilitates accidental integration.
Conclusions:
- HPV's life cycle strategy involves intimate interaction with host cellular processes.
- Accidental integration of viral DNA into the host genome is a potential outcome of this interaction.
- Integration of oncogenic HPV DNA can promote cancer development.
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