Padash Barmchi M, Gilbert M, Thomas M, Banks L, Zhang B, Auld VJ. A Drosophila Model of HPV E6-Induced Malignancy Reveals Essential Roles for Magi and the Insulin Receptor.
PLoS Pathog 2016;
12:e1005789. [PMID:
27537218 PMCID:
PMC4990329 DOI:
10.1371/journal.ppat.1005789]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2016] [Accepted: 07/06/2016] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Cervical cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer death in women worldwide. The causative agents of cervical cancers, high-risk human papillomaviruses (HPVs), cause cancer through the action of two oncoproteins, E6 and E7. The E6 oncoprotein cooperates with an E3 ubiquitin ligase (UBE3A) to target the p53 tumour suppressor and important polarity and junctional PDZ proteins for proteasomal degradation, activities that are believed to contribute towards malignancy. However, the causative link between degradation of PDZ proteins and E6-mediated malignancy is largely unknown. We have developed an in vivo model of HPV E6-mediated cellular transformation using the genetic model organism, Drosophila melanogaster. Co-expression of E6 and human UBE3A in wing and eye epithelia results in severe morphological abnormalities. Furthermore, E6, via its PDZ-binding motif and in cooperation with UBE3A, targets a suite of PDZ proteins that are conserved in human and Drosophila, including Magi, Dlg and Scribble. Similar to human epithelia, Drosophila Magi is a major degradation target. Magi overexpression rescues the cellular abnormalities caused by E6+UBE3A coexpression and this activity of Magi is PDZ domain-dependent. Drosophila p53 was not targeted by E6+UBE3A, and E6+UBE3A activity alone is not sufficient to induce tumorigenesis, which only occurs when E6+UBE3A are expressed in conjunction with activated/oncogenic forms of Ras or Notch. Finally, through a genetic screen we have identified the insulin receptor signaling pathway as being required for E6+UBE3A induced hyperplasia. Our results suggest a highly conserved mechanism of HPV E6 mediated cellular transformation, and establish a powerful genetic model to identify and understand the cellular mechanisms that underlie HPV E6-induced malignancy.
Human papillomaviruses (HPV) are the causative agents of cervical cancer, one of the leading causes of cancer death in women worldwide. The E6 oncoprotein encoded by HPV has been implicated in the progression of primary tumors to metastatic disease and we have developed a new model in the fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) to study the cellular effects of E6. The E6 protein recruits an E3 ubiquitin ligase (UBE3A) to induce the degradation of a number of cellular proteins, including members of the MAGUK family of scaffolding proteins that control the structure and polarity of epithelial cells: Dlg, Scribble and Magi. Expression of E6 and human UBE3A in the wing and eye of Drosophila disrupted these tissues. Similar to human cells we found that Drosophila Magi was a major E6 degradation target and that overexpression of Magi rescued the tissue disruption. However, Drosophila p53 was not degraded by E6/UBE3A, making our fly model potentially useful for studying the p53-independent activities of the E6+UBE3A complex. When we paired E6 expression with oncogenic proteins, including activated Ras, we observed that epithelia were transformed into mesechymal-like cells that left the epithelium and spread through the body. As a test of the potential of our system, we carried out a pilot genetic screen and identified the insulin receptor as a strong modulator of the E6-mediated disruption of Drosophila tissues. Therefore, we have developed a new system and approach to help us better understand the mechanisms that underlie how HPV infection leads to cell transformation and cancer.
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