The present invention relates to the discovery in eukaryotic cells,
particularly human cells, of novel protein-protein interactions between
certain cellular proteins, referred to herein as "E6AP-binding proteins"
or "E6AP-BPs", and the cellular protein E6AP, the latter of which is a
component of a ubiquitin-ligase (E3) enzyme. The association of E6AP and
the subject E6AP-binding proteins implicates the E6AP-binding proteins in
a number of basic cellular functions, such as regulation of gene
expression, regulation of the cell-cycle, modification of cell surface
receptors, biogenesis of ribosomes, and DNA repair. One of the
E6AP-binding proteins shares certain homology with the papillomavirus E6
protein, which also binds E6AP.