[Novel human DNA viruses and their putative associations with human diseases].

In this review, we described human small DNA viruses discovered on the cusp of the 20th and 21st centuries as a result of cutting-edge technologies established in molecular biology. The problems of obtaining an evidence of the etiological role of new viruses in human diseases have been considered.

Human papillomavirus types 16 E1 mRNA is transcribed from P14 early promoter in cervical neoplasms.

High-risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV) persistent infection is responsible for the development of the majority of cervical cancers. The therapy against HPV-associated cancer requires knowledge of the viral gene expression mechanisms. In this study, the polyadenylated polycistronic transcripts containing full-size E1ORF and produced from the early P14 promoter were detected for the first time in cervical tumors with episomal forms of the HPV16 genome.

Novel tumor suppressor candidates on chromosome 3 revealed by NotI-microarrays in cervical cancer.

Genetic and epigenetic alterations in cervical carcinomas were investigated using NotI-microarrays containing 180 cloned sequences flanking all NotI-sites associated with genes on chromosome 3. In total, 48 paired normal/tumor DNA samples, specifically enriched in NotI-sites, were hybridized to NotI-microarrays. Thirty genes, including tumor suppressors or candidates (for example, VHL, RBSP3/CTDSPL, ITGA9, LRRC3B, ALDH1L1, EPHB1) and genes previously unknown as cancer-associated (ABHD5, C3orf77, PRL32, LOC285375, FGD5 and others), showed methylation/deletion in 21-44% of tumors.

Cervical intraepithelial neoplasia: Telomerase activity and splice pattern of hTERT mRNA.

Cervical cancers are characterized by the persistence of human papilloma virus (HPV) genome that is found in tissue samples starting from the early stages of tumor progression. Just like in other tumors, the activation of telomerase was observed in cervical carcinomas, but information about its expression was controversial. The aim of this study is to find possible correlations between the presence of HPV sequences, activity of telomerase and expression of different spliced forms of hTERT RNA in cervical intraepithelial neoplasias (CIN).

Hypermethylation of genomic 3.3-kb repeats is frequent event in HPV-positive cervical cancer.

Background: Large-scale screening methods are widely used to reveal cancer-specific DNA methylation markers. We previously identified non-satellite 3.3-kb repeats associated with facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) as hypermethylated in cervical cancer in genome-wide screening.