Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted agent in the world. HPV6b is a low-risk type of HPVs that causes benign verrucous hyperplastic lesions of the skin and anal genital mucosa. Previous research has indicated that HPV genotype 6 is sometimes associated with high-grade lesions and anal cancer. The pathogenesis of low-risk HPV infection and its relationship to high-risk HPV is not clear at present. The E7 protein, which is encoded by HPV early -expressing genes, plays an important role in HPV infection. The aim of this study is to investigate the human gene expression signature of the HPV6b E7-transfected HaCaT stable cell line. The identification of differentially expressed genes might provide a more comprehensive understanding of HPV6b infection and will allow us to explore the specific role of E7 protein.

Ammonium is a major inorganic nitrogen source for tea plant growth and is mainly taken up and transported by ammonium transporters (AMTs). Here, we analyzed the NH4+ uptake kinetics of three tea cultivars, Longjing43 (LJ43), Zhongcha108 (ZC108) and Zhongcha302 (ZC302). The results revealed that ZC302 had a higher NH4+ uptake efficiency than the other two cultivars. The full CDS sequences of three Camellia sinensis ammonium transporter (CsAMT) genes, i.e., CsAMT1.1, CsAMT1.2 and CsAMT3.1, were cloned. Analysis of tissue-specific expression showed that CsAMT1.2 followed a root-specific expression pattern, while transcripts of CsAMT1.1 and CsAMT3.1 were mainly accumulated in leaves. The temporal course experiment on gene expression levels showed CsAMT1.1 and CsAMT3.1 followed a reciprocal expression pattern in leaves as CsAMT1.1 was up-regulated by a short time (2 h, 6 h) nitrogen (N) supply both in the leaves and buds of LJ43 and ZC108; and the expression of CsAMT3.1 in leaves was increased by a long time (72 h) N supply, particularly in ZC302. Therefore, we inferred that CsAMT1.1 and CsAMT3.1 might play important roles in photorespiratory ammonium metabolism. The expression of CsAMT1.2 was extremely high in roots and can be greatly induced by N over a short period of time, especially in ZC302; thus, we concluded CsAMT1.2 might play an important role in ammonium uptake from soils in tea plant roots.

Imiquimod (IMQ) is approved as a first-line treatment for genital warts caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. However, the recurrence rate is very high. HPV E7 protein plays a critical role in HPV immune escape. However, the role of HPV11 E7 protein in genital warts recurrence during IMQ treatment is not clear. Here, we found that the expression profile of NHEK cells was obviously changed after IMQ treatment, and a large number of genes encoding cytokines and genes involved in cytokine-mediated signaling pathways and cellular metabolic signaling pathways were up- or downregulated. HPV11E7 overexpression inhibited the IMQ-induced production of of multiple chemokines and colony-stimulating factors in NHEK cells. Furthermore, we found that HPV11E7 could impair the activation of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway. Therefore, our results suggested that HPV11 E7 diminishes the production of chemokines, colony-stimulating factors and other cytokines via inhibition of the MAPK signaling pathway, which suppresses the therapeutic effect of IMQ and promotes the recurrence of diseases, such as condyloma acuminatum.