MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play important roles in cancer development. By cloning and sequencing of a HPV16+ CaSki cell small RNA library, we isolated 174 miRNAs (including the novel miR-193c) which could be grouped into 46 different miRNA species, with miR-21, miR-24, miR-27a, and miR-205 being most abundant. We chose for further study 10 miRNAs according to their cloning frequency and associated their levels in 10 cervical cancer- or cervical intraepithelial neoplasia-derived cell lines. No correlation was observed between their expression with the presence or absence of an integrated or episomal HPV genome. All cell lines examined contained no detectable miR-143 and miR-145. HPV-infected cell lines expressed a different set of miRNAs when grown in organotypic raft cultured as compared to monolayer cell culture, including expression of miR-143 and miR-145. This suggests a correlation between miRNA expression and tissue differentiation. Using miRNA array analyses for age-matched normal cervix and cervical cancer tissues, in combination with northern blot verification, we identified significantly deregulated miRNAs in cervical cancer tissues, with miR-126, miR-143, and miR-145 downregulation and miR-15b, miR-16, miR-146a, and miR-155 upregulation. Functional studies showed that both miR-143 and miR-145 are suppressive to cell growth. When introduced into cell lines, miR-146a was found to promote cell proliferation. Collectively, our data indicate that downregulation of miR-143 and miR-145 and upregulation of miR-146a play a role in cervical carcinogenesis.

Papillomavirus capsids are composed of 72 pentamers reinforced through inter-and intrapentameric disulfide bonds. Recent research suggests that virus-like particles and pseudovirions (PsV) can undergo a redox-dependent conformational change involving disulfide interactions. We present here evidence that native virions exploit a tissue-spanning redox gradient that facilitates assembly events in the context of the complete papillomavirus life cycle. DNA encapsidation and infectivity titers are redox dependent in that they can be temporally modulated via treatment of organotypic cultures with oxidized glutathione. These data provide evidence that papillomavirus assembly and maturation is redox-dependent, utilizing multiple steps within both suprabasal and cornified layers.Human papillomaviruses (HPVs) exclusively infect cutaneous or mucosal epithelial tissues (14,15,30). HPV types that infect the mucosal epithelia can lead to the development of benign or malignant neoplasms, thus allowing for their categorization into low-risk or high-risk HPV types, respectively (14,15,30). A small subset of the more than 200 HPV types now identified are the causative agents of over 75% of all cervical cancers. HPV16 is the most prevalent type worldwide, found in ca. 50 to 62% of squamous cell carcinomas (14, 50).HPV16 virions contain a single, circular double-stranded DNA genome of ϳ8 kb which associates with histones to form a chromatin-like structure. This minichromosome is packaged within a nonenveloped, icosahedral capsid composed of the major capsid protein L1 and the minor capsid protein L2. Similar to polyomaviruses, 72 capsomeres of L1 are geometrically arranged on a Tϭ7 icosahedral lattice (2,9,17,19,36,42). Recent cryoelectron microscopy images of HPV16 pseudovirions (PsV) suggest that L2 is arranged near the inner conical hollow of each L1 pentamer, although it is not known whether each L1 pentamer is occupied with a single L2 protein (5, 42).Due to technical constraints in the production of native HPV virions in organotypic culture, assembly studies of HPV particles have largely been restricted to the utilization of in vitro-derived particles such as virus-like particles (VLPs), PsV, and quasivirions (QV) (6,12,25,40,43). Recent research suggests that HPV and bovine papillomavirus PsV can undergo a redox-dependent conformational change that takes place over the course of many hours. This conformational change is characterized by resistance to proteolysis and chemical reduction and the appearance of a more orderly capsid structure via transmission electron microscopy (TEM) (7,20).We present evidence that native virions, in the context of the complete papillomavirus life cycle, utilize a tissue-spanning redox gradient that facilitates multiple redox-dependent assembly and maturation events over the course of many days. We show that stability and specific infectivity of 20-day virions increases over 10-day virions, 20-day virions are more susceptible to neutralization than 10-day virions, and both viral DNA encapsidation...

Persistent infection of basal keratinocytes with high-risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV) may cause cancer. Keratinocytes are equipped with different pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) but hrHPV has developed ways to dampen their signals resulting in minimal inflammation and evasion of host immunity for sustained periods of time. To understand the mechanisms underlying hrHPV's capacity to evade immunity, we studied PRR signaling in non, newly, and persistently hrHPV-infected keratinocytes. We found that active infection with hrHPV hampered the relay of signals downstream of the PRRs to the nucleus, thereby affecting the production of type-I interferon and pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines. This suppression was shown to depend on hrHPV-induced expression of the cellular protein ubiquitin carboxyl-terminal hydrolase L1 (UCHL1) in keratinocytes. UCHL1 accomplished this by inhibiting tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated factor 3 (TRAF3) K63 poly-ubiquitination which lead to lower levels of TRAF3 bound to TANK-binding kinase 1 and a reduced phosphorylation of interferon regulatory factor 3. Furthermore, UCHL1 mediated the degradation of the NF-kappa-B essential modulator with as result the suppression of p65 phosphorylation and canonical NF-κB signaling. We conclude that hrHPV exploits the cellular protein UCHL1 to evade host innate immunity by suppressing PRR-induced keratinocyte-mediated production of interferons, cytokines and chemokines, which normally results in the attraction and activation of an adaptive immune response. This identifies UCHL1 as a negative regulator of PRR-induced immune responses and consequently its virus-increased expression as a strategy for hrHPV to persist.