Reduction of NFX1-123 and HPV 16 E6 and E7 Decreased Telomerase and CENP-F in Cervical Cancer Cell Lines

Activation of telomerase is a hallmark of cancers, and hTERT is the rate-limiting catalytic component of telomerase. We previously showed in HPV 16 E6 expressing epithelial cells that NFX1-123 augments and is required for full hTERT expression, leading to a growth advantage. However, no studies have investigated the role of NFX1-123 in telomerase activity regulation in HPV-associated cancers. We knocked out NFX1-123 (CaSki KO) in CaSki cells and performed single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNAseq) to determine mRNA alterations affected by a reduction in NFX1-123 expression. In CaSki KO cells, there were three cell clusters (populations) based on gene expression, each associated with different enriched biological processes.