title: RNA sequencing analysis identifies novel spliced transcripts but does not indicate quantitative or qualitative changes of viral transcripts during progression of cottontail rabbit papillomavirus-induced tumours.
abstract: Persistent infections with high-risk human papillomaviruses (HPVs) can result in the development of cancer of the cervix uteri and other malignancies. The underlying molecular mechanisms leading to the progression of HPV-induced lesions are, however, not well understood. Cottontail rabbit papillomavirus (CRPV) induces papillomas in domestic rabbits which progress at a very high rate to cancer. Using this model, we compared the transcriptional patterns of CRPV in papillomas and carcinomas by RNA sequencing (RNA-seq). The most abundant transcripts can encode E7, short E6 and E1^E4, followed by full-length E6, E2, E1 and E9^E2C. In addition, we identified two rare, novel splice junctions 7810/3714 and 1751/3065 in both papillomas and carcinomas which have been described for other papillomaviruses. Neither RNA-seq nor quantitative real-time PCR-based assays identified qualitative or quantitative changes of viral transcription between papillomas and carcinomas. In summary, our analyses confirmed that papillomaviruses have highly similar transcriptional patterns, but they do not suggest that changes in these patterns contribute to the progression of CRPV-induced tumours.
authors: Division of Experimental Virology, Institute of Medical Virology and Epidemiology of Viral Diseases, University Hospital Tübingen, Elfriede-Aulhorn-Strasse 6, Tübingen 72076, Germany.
authors: Sonja
authors: S
authors: Probst-Hunczek
authors: Centre for Bioinformatics Tübingen (ZBIT), University of Tübingen, Tübingen 72070, Germany.|Department of Medical Genetics, University Hospital Tübingen, Calwerstrasse 7, Tübingen 72076, Germany.
authors: Günter
authors: G
authors: Jäger
authors: Division of Experimental Virology, Institute of Medical Virology and Epidemiology of Viral Diseases, University Hospital Tübingen, Elfriede-Aulhorn-Strasse 6, Tübingen 72076, Germany.
authors: Markus
authors: M
authors: Schneider
authors: Division of Experimental Virology, Institute of Medical Virology and Epidemiology of Viral Diseases, University Hospital Tübingen, Elfriede-Aulhorn-Strasse 6, Tübingen 72076, Germany.
authors: Ekaterina
authors: E
authors: Notz
authors: Division of Experimental Virology, Institute of Medical Virology and Epidemiology of Viral Diseases, University Hospital Tübingen, Elfriede-Aulhorn-Strasse 6, Tübingen 72076, Germany.
authors: Frank
authors: F
authors: Stubenrauch
authors: Division of Experimental Virology, Institute of Medical Virology and Epidemiology of Viral Diseases, University Hospital Tübingen, Elfriede-Aulhorn-Strasse 6, Tübingen 72076, Germany.
authors: Thomas
authors: T
authors: Iftner
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology*; D012777:Cottontail rabbit papillomavirus / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D018450:Disease Progression; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D015967:Gene Expression Regulation, Viral; D010212:Papilloma / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology*; D012326:RNA Splicing; D011817:Rabbits; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D017423:Sequence Analysis, RNA; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology*