Increased expression of HPV-E7 oncoprotein correlates with a reduced level of pRb proteins via high viral load in cervical cancer.

ABSTRACT

Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common cause of sexually transmitted diseases and causes a wide range of pathologies including cervical carcinoma. Integration of the HR-HPV DNA into the host genome plays a crucial role in cervical carcinoma. An alteration of the pRb pathways by the E7 proteins is one of the mechanisms that's account for the transforming capacity of high-risk papillomavirus. For the proper understanding of the underline mechanism of the progression of the disease, the present study investigate the correlation of concentration of host pRb protein, viral E7 oncoprotein and viral load in early and advanced stages of cervical carcinoma. It was found that the viral load in early stages (stage I and II) was less (log10 transformed mean value 2.6 and 3.0) compared to advanced stages (stage III and IV) (Log10 transformed value 5.0 and 5.8) having high expression of HPV E7 onco-protein and reduced level of pRb protein, signifying the role of viral load and expression level of E7 oncoprotein in the progression of cervical cancer.