E2 represses the late gene promoter of human papillomavirus type 8 at high concentrations by interfering with cellular factors

The late gene promoter P-7535 of the epidermodysplasia verruciformis-associated human papillomavirus type 8 (HPVS) is regulated by the viral E2 protein. Transfection experiments performed with the human skin keratinocyte cell line RTS3b and P-7535 reporter plasmids revealed transactivation at low amounts and a repression of basal promoter activity at high amounts of E2 expression vector. This repression was promoter specific and correlated with the amount of transiently expressed E2 protein. Mutational analyses revealed that the negative regulation of P-7535 activity is mediated by the low-affinity E2 binding site P2, which is separated by one nucleotide from the P-7535 TATA box. Biochemical and genetic analyses suggested that repression is due to a displacement of the TATA-box binding protein by E2 and an interference of E2 with promoter-activating cellular factors that specifically recognize the P2 sequence. The high conservation of the P2 sequence among several papillomaviruses (epidermodysplasia verruciformis-associated HPVs, HPV1, cottontail rabbit papillomavirus, and bovine papillomavirus type 1) in the vicinity of the late gene promoter cap site suggests that an interplay of E2 and cellular factors at this sequence element is important for the expression of structural proteins.