UVB induced DNA damage is the major aetiological agent in NMSC development, but mounting evidence suggests a role for human papillomaviruses (HPV) from genus beta, including HPV 5 and HPV 8, in the development of NMSC on sun exposed body sites. We have previously shown that UVB activates Bak, an apoptogenic mitochondrial factor that, following an apoptotic stimulus, undergoes a conformational change that leads to pore formation in the mitochondrial membrane that releases apoptotic factors. The HPV E6 protein effectively inhibits UVB-induced apoptosis and targets Bak for proteolytic degradation. We have now identified the regions of the HPV5 E6 that are required to mediate Bak proteolysis and contribute toward the antiapoptotic activity of the protein. Interestingly, while wild-type HPV5 E6 does not bind or target p53 for proteolysis, we have isolated specific HPV5 E6 mutants that switch target specificity from Bak to p53 in a p53 codon 72 isoform-dependent manner. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the ability of wild-type HPV5 E6 to target Bak or specific E6 mutants to target p53 for proteolysis is not dependent on the E6-AP ubiquitin ligase. ' 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.Key words: skin cancer; HPV; Bak; E6; UV; light Chronic exposure to solar UV irradiation has been identified as the primary causative agent in the development of nonmelanoma skin cancer (NMSC).1 The formation of ''sunburn cells'' frequently observed in epidermis treated with UVB display apoptotic characteristic such as condensed nuclei, 2,3 and the response to UVB radiation is in part dependent upon the expression of p53.
4This p53-driven response, often termed ''cellular proofreading'', eliminates rather than repairs severely damaged cells, however p53-independent pathways have also been described. [5][6][7] However, studies indicate that Li Fraumeni patients, who have only one copy of p53, and patients with regions of mutated p53 on sunexposed sites, are not predisposed to tumour development 8,9 indicating that p53-independent mechanisms also play an important role in eliminating damaged cells.Studies on Epidermodysplasia Verruciformis (EV) patients have identified a link between extensive wart infection and the development of skin tumours on sun-exposed sites.10 Epidemiological studies also invoke a role for HPV in NMSC development in both immunocompromised organ transplant recipients and immunocompetent individuals. 11,12 There is increasing evidence that b-HPV types facilitate the persistence of DNA-damaged cells within the epithelium, following UVB-exposure, chiefly through interfering with DNA damage responses and inhibiting apoptotic pathways, reviewed by Akg€ ul et al.
13The Bak protein is a key apoptogenic factor located in the outer mitochondrial membrane.14 Following UV exposure, Bak is activated and stabilized in a p53-independent manner 7 by BH3 domain-containing proteins. 15,16 Bak activation involves a change in conformation at the N-terminus of the prote in 17 leading to Bak multimerization, [18][19][20] that is believed to form pores...