E6 Protein Expressed by High-Risk HPV Activates Super-Enhancers of the and Oncogenes by Destabilizing the Histone Demethylase KDM5C.

The high-risk (HR) human papillomaviruses (HPV) are causative agents of anogenital tract dysplasia and cancers and a fraction of head and neck cancers. The HR HPV E6 oncoprotein possesses canonical oncogenic functions, such as p53 degradation and telomerase activation. It is also capable of stimulating expression of several oncogenes, but the molecular mechanism underlying these events is poorly understood.