Sequence Variation in the E2-Binding Domain of HPV16 and Biological Function Evaluation in Tunisian Cervical Cancers

HPV16 E2 variants have different effects on the transcriptional activity of the LCR. In this study, we examined the nucleotide and amino acid sequence variation within the HPV16 E2 gene and to correlate with disease progression. E2 gene disruption was detected by PCR amplification of the entire E2 gene using a single set of primers. Nucleotide variations were analyzed by bidirectional sequencing. mRNA expression patterns of E6 and E7 gene transcripts were evaluated by a reverse transcriptase-PCR method (RT-PCR). The detection of intact E2 genes was significantly higher among controls than cases (81.8% versus 37.5%, resp., P < 0.05). Among the E subgroup, variation at position 3684 C>A results in the amino acid substitution T310K and was more common among the E2 undisrupted cases (7/9; 77.7%), compared to controls (2/9; 22.2%). In addition, specific sequence variations identified in the E2 ORF at positions 3684 C>A were associated with increased viral oncogenes E6-E7 production. Besides HPV16 E2 disruption, the 3684 C>A variation within undisrupted E2 genes could be involved in an alternative mechanism for deregulating the expression of the HPV16 E6 and E7 oncogenes and appears to be a major factor contributing to the development of cervical cancer in Tunisian women.