Title Interactions of HPV E6 Oncoproteins with Binding Partners: Implications on E6 Stability and Cellular Functions
Title (croatian) Interakcije onkoproteina E6 HPV-a s vezujućim partnerima: Utjecaj na stabilnost i stanične funkcije E6
Author Anamaria Đukić
Mentor Vjekoslav Tomaić (mentor)
Committee member Igor Jurak (predsjednik povjerenstva)
Committee member Felix Martinus Wensveen (član povjerenstva)
Committee member Dragomira Majhen (član povjerenstva)
Granter University of Rijeka (Faculty of Biotechnology and Drug Development) Rijeka
Defense date and country 2023-07-07, Croatia
Scientific / art field, discipline and subdiscipline BIOTECHNICAL SCIENCES Biotechnology
Universal decimal classification (UDC ) 578/579 - Virology. Microbiology
Abstract Human papillomaviruses (HPVs) are a group of small DNA viruses that cause various
human malignancies, with cervical cancer being the most significant disease associated with a
persistent HPV infection. Only a small number of HPV types has been shown to be responsible
for these malignancies. These HPVs are referred as high-risk (HR) types, with HPV-16 and -18
being the most prominent ones. Two major viral oncoproteins, E6 and E7, directly contribute to
the development of cancers by interfering with various cellular signaling pathways. A number of
HPV-16 variants has been identified in different geographical locations, with some variants
exhibiting higher oncogenic potential than others. The first part of thesis focuses on the analysis
of the HPV-16 E6 D25N L83V variant, which was shown to be strongly associated with the
development of cervical cancer. It was shown that this variant exhibits an increased capacity for
interacting with E6AP ubiquitin ligase and consequently degraded it more efficiently, in
comparison to the other analyzed mutants HPV-16 E6 D25N and E6 L83V. The HPV-16 E6
mutants' abilities to degrade key cellular target proteins, including the p53 tumor suppressor and
PDZ-domain containing substrates, were investigated through in vitro and overexpression
degradation assays. The analyses revealed no significant differences in the degradatory activities
among the evaluated E6 mutant oncoproteins. Furthermore, the second part of this thesis
demonstrates that multiple α-E6 oncoproteins can bind to MAML1 via LXXLL motif, resulting in
an increased α-E6 protein stability. β-E6 oncoprotein stability was also shown to be dependent on
the interaction with MAML1, whilst the absence of MAML1 led to both HPV-8 E6 and HPV-18 E6 oncoprotein rapid turnover at the proteasome. The study proposed a model by which most of
β-E6s interact exclusively with MAML1, whereas it appears that two cellular pools of HR α-E6
are present, one forms a complex with MAML1, while the other one interacts with E6AP. Although
HR α-E6/MAML1 complex does not affect the targeting of cellular substrates such as p53 and
DLG1, co-expression of MAML1 and E6AP with HR α-E6 modulates MAML1's normal cellular
activities leading to a significant increase in cellular proliferation. Silencing MAML1 decreases
wound closure in HeLa cells, suggesting its role in the regulation of cellular migration in HPVpositive cells and maintenance of the transformed phenotype. Overall, this doctoral thesis provides
novel insights into the functions of both α- and β-E6 oncoproteins and their roles in HPV-induced
pathogenesis.
Abstract (croatian) Humani papilomavirusi (HPVs) pripadaju skupini malih DNA virusa koji uzrokuju
različita maligna oboljenja, pri čemu je rak vrata maternice najznačajnija bolest povezana sa
dugotrajnom HPV infekcijom. Samo mali broj HPV tipova uzrokuje zloćudne bolesti. Spomenuti
tipovi nazivaju se visokorizičnim (HR), među kojima su HPV-16 i HPV-18 najistaknutiji. Dva
glavna virusna onkoproteina E6 i E7 svojim djelovanjem izravno pridonose razvoju raka djelujući
na različite stanične signalne puteve. Postoje mnoge varijante HPV-16 zastupljene na različitim
geografskim lokacijama te se pokazalo da neke od varijanti imaju veći onkogeni potencijal. Prvi
dio doktorske disertacije usmjeren je na analizu HPV-16 E6 D25N L83V varijante koja je usko
povezana s nastankom raka vrata maternice. Utvrđeno je da varijanta D25N L83V ostvaruje
povećanu interakciju sa ubikvitinskom ligazom E6AP te je posljedično najučinkovitija u poticanju
njezine razgradnje u usporedbi sa ostalim ispitanim mutantima HPV-16 E6 D25N i E6 L83V.
Svojstva mutanata da izazovu razgradnju ključnih staničnih ciljnih proteina, uključujući tumorsupresor p53 i stanične proteine koji sadrže PDZ-domene ispitana su in vitro esejima razgradnje i
esejima razgradnje provedenim korištenjem kulture stanica. Međutim, nisu otkrivene značajne
razlike u aktivnostima razgradnje među ispitivanim HPV-16 E6 mutantima. Drugi dio doktorske
disertacije otkriva da se različiti α-E6 onkoproteini vežu za MAML1 putem LXXLL strukturalnog
motiva, što rezultira povećanom stabilnošću onkoproteina E6. Nadalje, stabilnost onkoproteina βE6 također ovisi o interakciji s MAML1, dok utišavanjem MAML1 dolazi do brže proteasomske
razgradnje onkoproteina HPV-8 E6 i HPV-18 E6 u HPV-pozitivnim stanicama. Studija predlaže molekularni model prema kojemu većina onkoproteina β-E6 stupa u interakciju isključivo s
MAML1, dok su prisutna dva stanična skupa HR α-E6, od kojih jedan tvori kompleks s MAML1,
a drugi stupa u interakciji s E6AP. Iako kompleks HR α-E6/MAML1 nema ulogu u razgradnji
važnih staničnih ciljnih proteina kao što su p53 i DLG1, zajednička ekspresija MAML1 i E6AP sa
HR α-E6 mijenja uobičajene stanične aktivnosti MAML1 dovodeći do značajnog povećanja
stanične proliferacije. Dodatno, utišavanje MAML1 smanjuje „proces cijeljenja rane“ u HeLa
stanicama ukazujući na njegovu ulogu u regulaciji stanične migracije HPV-pozitivnih stanica i
održavanju transformiranog fenotipa. Sveobuhvatno, doktorska disertacija donosi nove uvide o
funkcijama onkoproteina α- i β-E6 i njihovoj ulozi u patogenezi izazvanoj HPV infekcijom.
Keywords
HPV
E6
E6 variants
cervical cancer
skin cancer
E6AP
MAML1
oncogenesis
protein stability
proliferation
migration
Keywords (croatian)
HPV
E6
E6 varijante
rak vrata maternice
rak kože
E6AP
MAML1
onkogeneza
stabilnost proteina
proliferacija
migracija
Language english
URN:NBN urn:nbn:hr:193:148163
Promotion 2023
Study programme Title: Medicinal chemistry Study programme type: university Study level: postgraduate Academic / professional title: doktor/doktorica znanosti, interdisciplinarna područja znanosti, polje biotehnologija u biomedicini (doktor/doktorica znanosti, interdisciplinarna područja znanosti, polje biotehnologija u biomedicini)
Type of resource Text
File origin Born digital
Access conditions Open access
Terms of use
Created on 2023-09-22 12:22:53