The Role of the HPV E6 Oncoprotein in Malignant Progression.
Miranda Thomas, David Pim and Lawrence Banks.
from: Papillomavirus Research: From Natural History To Vaccines and Beyond (Edited by: M. Saveria Campo). Caister Academic Press, U.K. (2006)
Abstract
It is now well established that the continued expression of the two major viral oncoproteins, E6 and E7, is essential for the maintenance of the transformed phenotype in cells derived from cervical tumours. Numerous in vitro and in vivo systems have been used to address the respective contributions of each protein to the development of malignancy. Recent studies have begun to highlight a role for E6 in the later, more malignant, stages of disease progression. Therefore, understanding the mechanisms by which E6 brings this about has important implications both for virus-induced cancers and for cancer progression in general. Interestingly, a recently identified class of cellular E6 targets has been implicated in this activity. These proteins control processes regulating cell proliferation, cell polarity, and cell-cell contact, all of which are perturbed during metastatic progression. In this chapter we shall review the activities of E6 with respect to those cellular targets that may be responsible for driving the later stages of malignant progression read more ...
