{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,20]],"date-time":"2026-07-20T15:59:51Z","timestamp":1784563191321,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":44,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"14","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,20]],"date-time":"2025-07-20T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1752969600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJMS"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Human papillomavirus 18 (HPV18) is the second most oncogenic high-risk HPV genotype, after HPV16, and is responsible for about 15% of cervical cancer cases worldwide. The integration of high-risk HPV DNA into the host genome leads to the disruption of the E1 and\/or E2 genes, which is considered a risk factor for viral-induced carcinogenesis. This study examined the disruption events of HPV18 E1 and E2 genes in precancerous cervical lesions to investigate the rates and sites of gene disruption in the Greek population. The complete E1 and E2 genes were amplified using three and four overlapping primer sets, respectively. Extensive analysis revealed that the disruption\/deletion events of the E1 and E2 genes were detected in all grades of cytology-determined lesions, with high frequency. E2 gene disruption was significantly related to LSIL+ cases (Fisher\u2019s exact test, p = 0.022). No significant association was found in the analysis of the E1 gene. Additionally, no preferential sites of E1\/E2 gene disruption were detected. This is the first study to provide evidence of disruption events of the HPV18 E1 gene. The data from the current analysis suggest that disruption of the E2 gene could be a significant marker for the progression of cytology-determined cervical dysplasia. However, future studies are required to evaluate whether different geographic populations have particular profiles regarding the rates and sites of gene disruption to further determine population-specific biomarkers.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijms26146974","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,21]],"date-time":"2025-07-21T09:33:53Z","timestamp":1753090433000},"page":"6974","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["Disruption Events in the HPV18 E1 and E2 Genes in Precancerous Cervical Lesions"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"26","author":[{"given":"Eirini","family":"Agnanti","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of General Microbiology, Department of Genetics, Development and Molecular Biology, School of Biology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6835-8410","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Dimitris","family":"Tsakogiannis","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Research Center, Hellenic Anticancer Institute, 10680 Athens, Greece"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Theologos","family":"Papadopoulos","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of General Microbiology, Department of Genetics, Development and Molecular Biology, School of Biology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0639-2474","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Konstantinos I.","family":"Arvanitidis","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Pharmacology, Department of Medicine, Democritus University of Thrace, 68100 Alexandroupolis, Greece"},{"name":"Dimokritos Diagnostic Laboratories, 68100 Alexandroupolis, Greece"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2424-6772","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Zaharoula","family":"Kyriakopoulou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Environmental Sciences, School of Technology, University of Thessaly, Gaiopolis Campus, 41500 Larissa, Greece"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3004-8104","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ioannis","family":"Karakasiliotis","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Biology, Department of Medicine, Democritus University of Thrace, 68100 Alexandroupolis, Greece"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0979-3871","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Christine","family":"Kottaridi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of General Microbiology, Department of Genetics, Development and Molecular Biology, School of Biology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,20]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","first-page":"F55","article-title":"Papillomavirus infections\u2014A major cause of human cancers","volume":"1288","year":"1996","journal-title":"Biochim. 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