The human papillomavirus type 16 E6 oncoprotein can down-regulate p53 activity by targeting the transcriptional coactivator CBP/p300.
The transforming proteins of the small DNA tumor viruses, simian virus 40 (SV40), adenovirus, and human papillomavirus (HPV) target a number of identical cellular regulators whose functional abrogation is required for transformation. However, while both adenovirus E1A and SV40 large T transforming properties also depend on the targeting of the transcriptional coactivator CBP/p300, no such interaction has been described for the HPV oncoprotein E6 or E7. Here, we demonstrate that the HPV-16 E6 protein, previously shown to facilitate the degradation of p53 in a complex with E6-associated protein (E6AP), also targets CBP/p300 in an interaction involving the C-terminal zinc finger of E6 and CBP residues 1808 to 1826. Furthermore, this interaction is limited to E6 proteins of high-risk HPVs associated with cervical cancer that have the capacity to repress p53-dependent transcription. An HPV-16 E6 mutant (L50G) that binds CBP/p300, but not E6AP, is still capable of down-regulating p53 transcriptional activity. Thus, HPV E6 proteins possess two distinct mechanisms by which to abrogate p53 function: the repression of p53 transcriptional activity by targeting the p53 coactivator CBP/p300, and the removal of cellular p53 protein through the proteosome degradation pathway.
Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, Singapore 117 609, Singapore.
H
H
Zimmermann
R
R
Degenkolbe
H U
HU
Bernard
M J
MJ
O'Connor
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D050882:CREB-Binding Protein; D015536:Down-Regulation; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009687:Nuclear Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D009856:Oncogene Proteins, Viral / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D027383:Papillomaviridae / Q000378:metabolism*; D012097:Repressor Proteins; D015534:Trans-Activators / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D014158:Transcription, Genetic; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 / Q000378:metabolism*
C068651:E6 protein, Human papillomavirus type 16; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; D009856:Oncogene Proteins, Viral; D012097:Repressor Proteins; D015534:Trans-Activators; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53; D050882:CREB-Binding Protein; C494363:CREBBP protein, human