Utilization of a cell-penetrating peptide-adaptor for delivery of human papillomavirus protein E2 into cervical cancer cells to arrest cell growth and promote cell death.

Background: Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the causative agent of nearly all forms of cervical cancer, which can arise upon viral integration into the host genome and concurrent loss of viral regulatory gene E2. Gene-based delivery approaches show that E2 reintroduction reduces proliferative capacity and promotes apoptosis in vitro.

Aims: This work explored if our calcium-dependent protein-based delivery system, TAT-CaM, could deliver functional E2 protein directly into cervical cancer cells to limit proliferative capacity and induce cell death.