Oncogenic HPV promotes the expression of the long noncoding RNA lnc-FANCI-2 through E7 and YY1
Significance
Persistent infections of oncogenic HPVs can lead to cervical, anogenital, and head-and-neck cancers. We report that HPV-infected cervical lesions display aberrant expression of 194 long-noncoding RNAs, including
lnc-FANCI-2
. We show that, in cell and tissue cultures,
lnc-FANCI-2
is induced primarily by the oncogenic HPV E7 protein via interacting with a cellular transcription factor YY1. HPV infection also increases YY1 protein expression by reducing miR-29a, which targets the 3′ UTR of YY1 RNA. In vivo and in vitro, the nearby DNA repair gene
FANCI
is co-upregulated. These findings highlight an aspect on how oncogenic HPV E7 contributes to pathogenesis.