Regulation of p14ARF expression by HPV-18 E6 variants.

A common causative agent for uterine cervical cancer is the human papillomavirus type 18 (HPV-18) which has three phylogenic variants: Asian-Amerindian, European, and African. Each variant shows significant molecular differences in the E6 gene. E6 oncoprotein is a negative regulator of tumor suppressor protein p53, hence, this oncoprotein indirectly regulates the expression of tumor-suppressor p14(ARF) .

Nuclear co-expression of p14ARF and p16INK4A in uterine cervical cancer-derived cell lines containing HPV.

The Papanicolaou test (Pap) has been responsible for a significant reduction of cervical cancer-related morbimortality. In order to increase its sensitivity and specificity new markers have been studied and incorporated to cytological and histological methods for diagnosis for cervical cancer, such as p16INK4A that has been considered the immunocytochemical marker of choice for detection of HPV related cancers. We considered that p14ARF could be a complementary marker in order to improve the accuracy of cytological diagnosis because its genetic proximity to p16INK4A.