Cells that express the human papillomavirus (HPV) type 16 E7 oncoprotein are predisposed to undergo apoptosis. Transgenic mice that have E7 expression targeted to either the retinal photoreceptor cells or the lens cells exhibit signs of apoptosis in cells attempting to undergo differentiation. We established a cell culture system to study this process and have determined the domains of E7 that are required for predisposing cells to undergo apoptosis in response to growth arrest signals. Regions within the core pRB binding site of E7 were necessary but not sufficient for inducing apoptosis. Residues within the adenovirus conserved region 1 homology domain and the consensus casein kinase II phosphorylation site are also important for this effect on cell viability. Our data also demonstrate that the ability of E7 to induce destabilization of pRB and stabilization of p53 coincides with E7-mediated transformation and apoptosis.

The E6 and E7 proteins of the high risk human papillomaviruses (HPVs) are consistently expressed in HPV-positive cervical carcinomas. We investigated the ability of HPV-16 E6 and E7 to disrupt mitotic checkpoints in normal diploid human cells. Acute expression of HPV-16 E6, but not HPV-16 E7, decreased the ®delity of multiple checkpoints controlling entry into and exit from mitosis. After irradiation, nearly 50% of cells containing HPV-16 E6 readily entered mitosis as opposed to less than 10% of control cells. Consistent with this, asynchronous populations of cells expressing HPV-16 E6 had increased cdc2-associated histone H1 kinase activity relative to control populations. In addition, HPV-16 E6 increased sensitivity to chemically-induced S-phase premature mitosis and decreased mitotic spindle assembly checkpoint function relative to control populations. HPV-16 E6 mutants with a reduced ability to target p53 for degradation were unable to abrogate mitotic checkpoints, suggesting a possible mechanism by which HPV-16 E6 disrupts mitotic checkpoints. Expression of a mutant p53 gene yielded an intermediate phenotype relative to HPV-16 E6, generating moderate increases in sensitivity to chemically-induced S-phase PCC and mitotic spindle disruption and a heightened propensity to enter mitosis after irradiation.

The leukotoxins [9(10)-and 12(13)-EpOME] are produced by activated inflammatory leukocytes such as neutrophils. High EpOME levels are observed in disorders such as acute respiratory distress syndrome and in patients with extensive burns. Although the physiological significance of the EpOMEs remains poorly understood, in some systems, the EpOMEs act as a protoxin, with their corresponding epoxide hydrolase metabolites, 9,10-and 12,13-DiHOME, specifically exerting toxicity. Both the EpOMEs and the DiHOMEs were also recently shown to have neutrophil chemotactic activity. We evaluated whether the neutrophil respiratory burst, a surge of oxidant production thought to play an important role in limiting certain bacterial and fungal infections, is modulated by members of the EpOME metabolic pathway. We present evidence that the DiHOMEs suppress the neutrophil respiratory burst by a mechanism distinct from that of respiratory burst inhibitors such as cyclosporin H or lipoxin A4, which inhibit multiple aspects of neutrophil activation.