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.