RESUMO
Retroelements are expressed in diverse types of cancer and are related to tumorigenesis and to cancer progression. We characterized the expression of retroelements in cervical cancer and explored their interplay with HPV infection and their association with expression of neighboring genes. Forty biopsies of invasive cervical carcinoma (squamous cell carcinomas and adenocarcinomas) with genotyped HPV were selected and analyzed for human endogenous retrovirus (HERV) and long interspersed nuclear element 1 (L1) expression through RNA-seq data. We found 8060 retroelements expressed in the samples and a negative correlation of DNA methyltransferase 1 expression with the two most expressed L1 elements. A total of 103 retroelements were found differentially expressed between tumor histological types and between HPV types, including several HERV families (HERV-K, HERV-H, HERV-E, HERV-I and HERV-L). The comparison between HPV mono- and co-infections showed the highest proportion of differentially expressed L1 elements. The location of retroelements affected neighboring gene expression, such as shown for the interleukin-20 gene family. Three HERVs and seven L1 were located close to this gene family and two L1 showed a positive association with IL20RB expression. This study describes the expression of retroelements in cervical cancer and shows their association with HPV status and host gene expression.
RESUMO
Scarce data are available on the expression of papillomavirus genome and the frequency of alternatively spliced E6E7 mRNAs in invasive cervical cancer. We carried out a comprehensive characterization of HPV expression by RNA-Seq analysis in 22 invasive cervical cancer with HPV16 or HPV18, characterizing the presence of integrated/episomal viral DNA, the integration sites in human genome and the proportion of alternative splicing products of E6 and E7 genes. The expression patterns suggested the presence of episomal and/or integrated viral DNA, with integration detected in most tumors, frequently occurring within human genes in HPV18+ and in intergenic regions in HPV16+ tumors. Alternative splicing of E6E7 transcripts showed E6*I as the most frequent isoform for both viral types, followed by E6*II and E6/E7 (unspliced) transcripts in HPV16+, and by E6/E7 in HPV18+ tumors. Previously described E6*VI and E6*V transcript isoforms for HPV16, and E6*X for HPV18, were rare or not detected.
Assuntos
Proteínas de Ligação a DNA , Regulação Neoplásica da Expressão Gênica , Regulação Viral da Expressão Gênica , Papillomavirus Humano 16 , Papillomavirus Humano 18 , Proteínas Oncogênicas Virais , Proteínas E7 de Papillomavirus , RNA-Seq , Proteínas Repressoras , Neoplasias do Colo do Útero , Integração Viral , Processamento Alternativo , Proteínas de Ligação a DNA/biossíntese , Proteínas de Ligação a DNA/genética , Feminino , Papillomavirus Humano 16/genética , Papillomavirus Humano 16/metabolismo , Papillomavirus Humano 18/genética , Papillomavirus Humano 18/metabolismo , Humanos , Proteínas Oncogênicas Virais/biossíntese , Proteínas Oncogênicas Virais/genética , Proteínas E7 de Papillomavirus/biossíntese , Proteínas E7 de Papillomavirus/genética , Proteínas Repressoras/biossíntese , Proteínas Repressoras/genética , Neoplasias do Colo do Útero/genética , Neoplasias do Colo do Útero/metabolismo , Neoplasias do Colo do Útero/patologia , Neoplasias do Colo do Útero/virologiaRESUMO
The tumor suppressor gene RB1 (Human Retinoblastoma Susceptibility Gene) plays a prominent role in normal development, gene transcription, DNA replication, repair, and mitosis. Its complete biallelic dysfunction in retinoblasts is the main cause of retinoblastoma in the human. Although this gene has been evolutionary conserved, comparisons between the reference and human RB1 coding region with its counterparts in 19 non-human primates showed 359 sites where nucleotide replacements took place during the radiation of these species. These resulted in missense substitutions in 97 codons, 91 of which by amino acids with radically different physicochemical properties. Several in frame deletions and two insertions were also observed in the N-terminal region of the pRB protein where the highest number of amino acid substitutions and radical amino changes were found. Fifty-six codons were inferred to be under negative selection and five under positive selection. Differences in codon usage showed evident phylogenetic signals, with hominids generally presenting higher indices of codon bias than other catarrhines. The lineage leading to platyrrhines and, within platyrrhines, the lineage leading to Saimiri boliviensis showed a high rate of nucleotide substitutions and amino acids. Finally, several RB1 alterations associated to retinoblastoma in the human were present in several non-human primates without an apparent pathological effect.
