Triggering of death receptor apoptotic signaling by human papillomavirus 16 E2 protein in cervical cancer cell lines is mediated by interaction with c-FLIP

Abstract

Human papillomavirus (HPV) E2 gene disruption is one of the key features of HPV-induced cervical malignant transformation. Though it is thought to prevent progression of carcinogenesis, the pro-apoptotic function of E2 protein remains poorly understood. This study shows that expression of HPV16 E2 induces apoptosis both in HPV-positive and -negative cervical cancer cell lines and leads to hyperactivation of caspase-8 and caspase-3. Activation of these signaling factors is responsible for the observed sensitivity to apoptosis upon treatment with anti-Fas antibody or TNF-α. In addition, immunoprecipitation experiments clearly show an interaction between HPV16 E2 and c-FLIP, a key regulator of apoptotic cell death mediated by death receptor signaling. Moreover, c-FLIP and a caspase-8 inhibitor protect cells from HPV16 E2-mediated apoptosis. Overexpression of c-FLIP rescues cervical cancer cells from apoptosis induced by HPV16 E2 protein expression. The data suggest that HPV16 E2 abrogates the apoptosis-inhibitory function of c-FLIP and renders the cell hypersensitive to the Fas/FasL apoptotic signal even below threshold concentration. This suggests a novel mechanism for deregulation of cervical epithelial cell growth upon HPV-induced transformation, which is of great significance in developing therapeutic strategies for intervention of cervical carcinogenesis.