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Journal of Virology, January 2000, p. 401-410, Vol. 74, No. 1
Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology,
Singapore 117 609, Singapore
Received 9 August 1999/Accepted 29 September 1999
The life cycles of human papillomaviruses (HPVs) are intimately
linked to the differentiation program of infected stratified epithelia,
with both viral gene expression and replication being maintained at low
levels in undifferentiated basal cells and increased upon host cell
differentiation. We recently identified, in HPV-16, a negative
regulatory element between the epithelial-cell-specific enhancer and
the E6 promoter that is capable of silencing E6 promoter activity, and
we termed this element a papillomavirus silencing motif (PSM) and the
unknown cellular factor that bound to it PSM binding protein (PSM-BP).
Here we show that the homologous genomic segments of six other
distantly related genital HPV types contain a PSM that binds PSM-BP and
is capable of repressing transcription. Conservation of the PSM
suggests that it is indispensable for the HPV life cycle. Purification,
electrophoretic mobility shift assay experiments, and the use of
specific antibodies proved that the cellular factor PSM-BP is identical
to a previously described transcriptional repressor, the CCAAT
displacement protein (CDP), also referred to as the human Cut protein
(Cut). CDP/Cut repression of HPV-16 may stem from the modification of
specifically positioned nucleosomes, as suggested by
transcriptional stimulation under the influence of the histone
deacetylase inhibitor trichostatin A. CDP/Cut is an important
developmental regulator in several different tissues. It was recently
shown that CDP/Cut is expressed in basal epithelial
cells but not in differentiated primary keratinocytes. This suggests
the possibility that repression by PSM couples HPV transcription
to the stratification of epithelia. In each of the studied HPV types,
the two CDP/Cut binding sites of PSM overlap with the
known or presumed binding sites of the replication initiator protein
E1. Transfection of CDP/Cut expression vectors into cells that support
HPV-16 or HPV-31 replication leads to the elimination of viral
episomes. Similarly, two PSM-like motifs overlapping the E1 binding
site of bovine papillomavirus type 1 bind CDP/Cut, and CDP/Cut
overexpression reduces the copy number of episomally replicating BPV-1
genomes in mouse fibroblasts. CDP/Cut appears to be a master regulator
of HPV transcription and replication during epithelial differentiation,
and PSMs are important cis-responsive targets of this repressor.
0022-538X/0/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
The Differentiation-Specific Factor CDP/Cut Represses
Transcription and Replication of Human Papillomaviruses through a
Conserved Silencing Element

*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: Institute of
Molecular and Cell Biology, 30 Medical Dr., Singapore 117 609, Singapore. Phone: (65) 8743765. Fax: (65) 7791117. E-mail:
mcbhub{at}imcb.nus.edu.sg.
Present address: KuDOS Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Cambridge CB4 4GW,
United Kingdom.
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