The lysine acetyltransferase GCN5 contributes to human papillomavirus oncoprotein E7‐induced cell proliferation via up‐regulating E2F1

General control nondepressible 5 (GCN5), the first identified transcription‐related lysine acetyltransferase (KAT), is an important catalytic component of a transcriptional regulatory SAGA (Spt‐Ada‐GCN5‐Acetyltransferase) and ATAC (ADA2A‐containing) complex. While GCN5 has been implicated in cancer development, its role in cervical cancer is not known. The human papillomavirus (HPV) oncoprotein E7 abrogates the G1 cell cycle checkpoint and induces genomic instability, which plays a central role in cervical carcinogenesis. In this study, we observed that GCN5 was up‐regulated in HPV E7‐expressing cells, knockdown of GCN5 inhibited cell cycle progression and DNA synthesis in HPV E7‐expressing cells. Notably, GCN5 knockdown reduced the steady‐state levels of transcription factor E2F1. Depletion of E2F1 caused G1 arrest while overexpression of E2F1 rescued the inhibitory effects of GCN5 knockdown on G1/S progression in HPV E7‐expressing cells. Results from chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assays demonstrated that GCN5 bound to the E2F1 promoter and increased the extent of histone acetylation within these regions. GCN5 also acetylated c‐Myc and increased its ability to bind to the E2F1 promoter. Knockdown of c‐Myc reduced the steady‐state levels of E2F1 and caused G1 arrest. These results revealed a novel mechanism of E7 function whereby elevated GCN5 acetylates histones and c‐Myc to regulate E2F1 expression and cell cycle progression.