Rare human papillomavirus 16 E6 variants reveal significant oncogenic potential
2011

Oncogenic Potential of Rare HPV 16 E6 Variants

publication Evidence: moderate

Author Information

Author(s): Ingeborg Zehbe, Hava Lichtig, Ashley Westerback, Paul F Lambert, Massimo Tommasino, Levana Sherman

Primary Institution: Thunder Bay Regional Research Institute, Probe Development & Biomarker Exploration, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada

Hypothesis

Do low prevalence HPV 16 E6 variants differ from high prevalence types in their functional abilities related to carcinogenesis?

Conclusion

Rare HPV 16 E6 variants exhibit significant activities relevant to cervical carcinogenesis, similar to common variants, but no distinctive phenotype could be assigned to all rare variants.

Supporting Evidence

  • Low and high prevalence E6 variants displayed similar abilities in abrogation of growth arrest and inhibition of p53 elevation.
  • R8Q exhibited a unique phenotype characterized by low expression of keratin 10 and high expression of keratins 5 and 14.
  • R48W induced increased levels of anoikis upon suspension in semisolid medium.

Takeaway

This study looked at different types of HPV 16 E6 proteins to see if the rare ones are just as dangerous as the common ones. They found that the rare types can still cause problems like the common ones.

Methodology

The study evaluated the functional abilities of HPV 16 E6 variants using human immortalized keratinocytes in various assays relevant to carcinogenesis.

Limitations

The study did not identify distinctive phenotypes for all rare variants, suggesting that other factors may influence their prevalence and oncogenic potential.

Participant Demographics

Variants were identified in clinical samples from Swedish, Finnish, and Italian women.

Statistical Information

P-Value

p<0.05

Statistical Significance

p<0.05

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1186/1476-4598-10-77

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