title: Human c-myb is expressed in cervical carcinomas and transactivates the HPV-16 promoter.
abstract: Human c-myb is normally involved in the regulation of proliferation and differentiation of hematopoietic cells. Until now, only a few reports have described elevated c-myb gene expression in epithelial tissue, suggesting that under certain circumstances, c-Myb protein might play a role during the process of malignant transformation of epithelial cells. To investigate a possible role of c-myb during papillomavirus-associated carcinogenesis, we investigated the c-myb mRNA expression in human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated tumors and tumor cell lines. Seven of nine cervical carcinomas and two of three carcinoma cell lines exhibited elevated c-myb transcriptional activity. In contrast to malignant cervical neoplasias, only 3 of 15 condylomata acuminata expressed a sparse signal for c-myb mRNA. Since the c-Myb protein has been described as a potent transcriptional regulator, we investigated the transactivating properties of c-Myb on the HPV-16 promoter/enhancer. Cotransfection of a chloramphenicol acetyltransferase-reporter plasmid containing the HPV-16 enhancer/promoter element with a full-length c-Myb-expressing plasmid resulted in a significant induction (4.3-fold) of the HPV-16 promoter, whereas expression of a carboxy-terminally deleted c-Myb protein led to no effects. Gel shift experiments showed a specific binding of recombinant c-Myb protein on the HPV-16 P97 enhancer. These data indicate that elevated c-myb expression occurs with HPV-associated cell transformation. Since c-Myb has been shown to stimulate the HPV-derived oncoprotein expression via transcriptional activation, it may play a role in the process of HPV-associated cervical carcinogenesis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Virchow-Klinikum, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Nürnberg
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Artuc
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nawrath
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lovric
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Stüting
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Moelling
authors.forename: B M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Czarnetzki
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Schadendorf
mesh_terms: D001483:Base Sequence; D001665:Binding Sites; D003218:Condylomata Acuminata / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D015870:Gene Expression; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D027383:Papillomaviridae / Q000235:genetics*; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D020598:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-myb; D011519:Proto-Oncogenes; D015533:Transcriptional Activation; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; D020598:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-myb