Search

Rhesus Papillomavirus type 1 (RhPV-1) was recently cloned from a rhesus monkey lymph node metastasis of a penile squamous cell carcinoma. In this paper, we demonstrate that RhPV-1 cooperates with the activated ras oncogene to transform primary cells at a level comparable to human papillomavirus type 16. The viral DNAs were cloned such that their expression was under the control of their natural promoter elements. Unlike human papillomavirus type 16, RhPV-1 DNA cooperated with ras independently of the hormone dexamethasone. However, dexamethasone did have a positive influence on the ability of some RhPV-1 cotransformed cells to grow in soft-agar assays. The transformed cells are highly tumorigenic in vivo in nude mice.

The complete nucleotide sequence of the rhesus papillomavirus type 1 (RhPV 1) genome was determined. The genome is 8026 nucleotides in length and has a genomic organization similar to that of other characterized papillomaviruses. Sequence comparison of RhPV 1 to other papillomaviruses found similarities closest to HPV 16, a sexually transmitted human virus with a high oncogenic potential. Slight differences in the glucocorticoid responsive elements may explain disparate reliance upon added dexamethasone for transformation in vitro of these two papillomaviruses. In addition, a previously described DNA clone consisting of contiguous RhPV 1 and cellular sequences was partially sequenced. The disruption of the RhPV 1 genome due to integration occurred within the L1 open reading frame of RhPV 1, and no significant similarities were observed between the adjacent cellular sequences and information in various data banks.