HPV-16 E2 contributes to induction of HPV-16 late gene expression by inhibiting early polyadenylation.
We provide evidence that the human papillomavirus (HPV) E2 protein regulates HPV late gene expression. High levels of E2 caused a read-through at the early polyadenylation signal pAE into the late region of the HPV genome, thereby inducing expression of L1 and L2 mRNAs. This is a conserved property of E2 of both mucosal and cutaneous HPV types. Induction could be reversed by high levels of HPV-16