RECURRENT INTEGRATION OF PAPILLOMAVIRUS DNA WITHIN THE HUMAN 12Q14-15UTERINE BREAKPOINT REGION IN GENITAL CARCINOMAS

Genital carcinomas are associated with human papillomaviruses, and the viral DNA is frequently integrated in the host cell genome. Recurrent chromosomal alterations are genetic markers for specific tumor phenot ypes. To demonstrate that papillomavirus DNA integration is indeed a r ecurrent chromosomal aberration, we mapped two independent papillomavi rus integration sites in the human 12q14-15 region, one containing HPV 16 DNA and the other HPV18 DNA. The two HPV integration sites map appr oximately 10 kbp from each other within the cosmid LLNL12NCO1-196E1 cl one. The integration site corresponding to HPV16 DNA in SK-V cells is proximal to the 5' end of a DNA segment known to be rearranged by inte gration of HPV18 DNA in another cervical carcinoma cell line, SW756. B oth integrations are located in the PAL2 locus within the uterine leio myoma cluster region of translocation. (C) 1998 Wiley-Liss, Inc.