Expression of luciferase under the control of HPV 16 URR in HeLa cells. The promoter activities of the H1, K2, K4, R1, O2, and S1 URR (black bars) were assessed in the context of the prototype URR, which was assigned the value 1 (white bar). The promoter activities of H1, K2, and K4 altered by site-directed mutagenesis are designated by hatched bars. The change in the YY1 motif at nt 7792 explained 9-fold of the 11-fold increase associated with K2 (shown by the difference between pALuc16K2 and pALuc16K2YY1P); the change in overlapping Oct-1/PEF-1 sites at nt 7676 was also significant, as shown by the almost twofold reduction in activity between pALuc16K2 and pALuc16K2Oct-1P. The variation in the PSM at nt 7894 upregulated the promoter threefold (as shown by the difference between pALuc16K4 and pALuc16K4PSMP). Variations in the YY1 site and TEF-1 sites at nt 7743 and 7786 in K4 and H1, respectively, did not alter promoter activity (pALuc16H1 activity was similar to pAluc16H1TEF-1P activity, and pALuc16K4 activity was similar to pALuc16K4YY1P activity).