Interaction of the E6 protein of human papillomavirus with cellular proteins.

The E6 proteins of the oncogenic Human Papillomavirus (HPV) types 16 and 18 are known to bind two cellular proteins, the tumor suppressor protein p53 and a 100 kDa protein named E6-AP. In this paper we describe the expression and purification of biologically active E6 fusion proteins and their specific association with additional cellular proteins. HPV16E6 specifically associated with at least seven cellular proteins which have been designated pp212, pp182, p100, p81, p75, p53 and p33 respectively, on the basis of molecular mass and phosphorylation. We have also shown that the complex of cellular proteins associated with HPV16, 18, 6 and 11 E6 proteins contains a protein kinase. This protein kinase phosphorylated exogenous histone H1 and the E6 associated protein pp182.