http://www.loc.gov/mods/v3 http://www.loc.gov/standards/mods/v3/mods-3-2.xsd
Cross-talk between the sumoylation system, keratinocyte differentiation, and papillomavirus oncogenic proteins
xiv, 211 leaves : illustrations ; 28 cm.
ABSTRACT: The epithelium, which is composed of basal and differentiated keratinocytes, is a large organ going under constant differentiation process providing a thick barrier against environmental infection. Papillomavirus has been shown to infect cutaneous and mucosal epithelium, and the process of keratinocytes differentiation controls its life cycle (Stubenrauch and Laimins, 1999). In 2000, Dr. Wilson and his former lab members discovered that papillomavirus E1 was post-translationally modified by a small protein of 12 KDa called SUMO. HPVE1 is involved in viral DNA replication and its presence in the nucleus is important for the virus life cycle. Dr. Wilson's lab determined that E1 sumoylation affects its nuclear localization (Rangasamy et al., 2000) and established for the first time a link between papillomavirus life cycle and the sumoylation system. As there are still a lot unanswered questions on papillomavirus interaction with its host and based on this previous information, we hypothesized that there may be a cross talk between the sumoylation system, papillomavirus infection and the process of keratinocyte differentiation. In order to explore this hypothesis we undertook the challenge to test the importance of the sumoylation system during keratinocyte differentation process and to test how papillomavirus can influence this system to favor its replication.
"Submitted to the Office of Research and Graduate Studies of The Texas A&M University System Health Science Center in partial fulfillment for the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy May 2007."
Approved as to style and content by: Van G. Wilson, Julian Leibowitz, Rajesh Miranda, Linda Guarino, John Quarles.
Ph. D. Texas A&M University System Health Science Center 2007.
Small Ubiquitin-Related Modifier Proteins