
<ArticleTitle>E box-dependent activation of <prot>telomerase</prot> by human papillomavirus type 16 <prot>E6</prot> does not require induction of <prot>c-myc</prot>.</ArticleTitle>
<AbstractText>Human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV-16) <prot>E6</prot> activates <prot>telomerase</prot> specifically in epithelial cells. The oncogene <prot>c-myc</prot> has also been shown to activate telomerase in several cell types. Here we show that while both HPV-16 <prot>E6</prot> and <prot>c-myc</prot> require intact E boxes to transactivate the <prot>hTERT</prot> promoter, <prot>E6</prot> does not induce <prot>hTERT</prot> transcription simply by inducing expression of <prot>c-myc</prot>. Moreover, <prot>hTERT</prot> transactivation by HPV-16 <prot>E6</prot> correlates with its ability to bind the cellular <prot><prot>E6</prot>-associated protein</prot> (<prot>E6AP</prot>), suggesting that <prot>E6</prot> and <prot>E6AP</prot> may target a regulator of <prot>hTERT</prot> expression.</AbstractText>
