Human pathology

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HPVs

human papilloma virus, HPV

Human papillomaviruses are the causative agent of cancers in stratified epithelial surfaces. They replicate in the upper parts of the epithelium, where cells would normally be dying to produce a cornified layer.

Infection with human papillomaviruses (HPVs) is a major public health burden worldwide and is associated with benign and malignant lesions of the skin and genital tract.

Therefore, they need to inhibit or delay differentiation and stimulate cell cycle progression to create an environment conducive for replication of the viral genome.

HPV causes cervical cancer, which represents the second most prevalent cancer in women worldwide. Functions of the viral oncogenes E6 and E7 are essential for carcinogenesis and for support of the viral life cycle.

The alterations both in differentiation and in the cell cycle are achieved by the viral proteins E6 and E7, which modulate cellular transcription mainly through their effects on p53 and the retinoblastoma family.

Subtypes

Genus Species Types properties
alpha-HPV 4 HPV-2, HPV-27, HPV-57 common skin warts, genital warts of children

Pathology

- cervical HPV infection

- HPV associated squamous cell carcinoma

Tumorigenesis

- HPV E6 and E7 oncoproteins are able to inactivate the tumor suppressor functions of p53 and Rb

  • HPV E6 protein
  • HPV E7 protein

Videos

- vulvar condyloma accuminata (by Washington Deceit)

Testing

- Third Wave?s HPV High-Risk Screening Test by Third Wave Technologies

See also

- high-risk HPV

References

- Woodman CB, Collins SI, Young LS. The natural history of cervical HPV infection: unresolved issues. Nat Rev Cancer. 2007 Jan;7(1):11-22. PMID: 17186016

- Jones EE, Wells SI. Cervical cancer and human papillomaviruses: inactivation of retinoblastoma and other tumor suppressor pathways. Curr Mol Med. 2006 Nov;6(7):795-808. PMID: 17100604

- Roden R, Wu TC. How will HPV vaccines affect cervical cancer? Nat Rev Cancer. 2006 Oct;6(10):753-63. PMID: 16990853

- McCance DJ. Transcriptional regulation by human papillomaviruses. Curr Opin Genet Dev. 2005 Oct;15(5):515-9. PMID: 16099158

- Wentzensen N, Vinokurova S, von Knebel Doeberitz M. Systematic review of genomic integration sites of human papillomavirus genomes in epithelial dysplasia and invasive cancer of the female lower genital tract. Cancer Res. 2004 Jun 1;64(11):3878-84. PMID: 15172997

- Storey A. Papillomaviruses: death-defying acts in skin cancer. Trends Mol Med. 2002 Sep;8(9):417-21. PMID: 12223312

P.S.


- Oncogenic effects on the cell cycle and apoptosis of human papillomavirus (Animated)

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