Year: 2012
Type: article
Abstract: Human papillomaviruses (HPV) are very common viruses, often causing benign epithelial lesions but, rarely, also cancer. Only long persistent infection with some carcinogenic or high risk HPV types will progress to high-grade lesions and finally cancer. The oncogenic potential of these HR HPV types relies on the role of their major oncoproteins E6 and E7, which bind, inactivate and degrade the two major cellular tumor-suppressor gene products, p53 and the retinoblastoma tumor-suppressor protein (pRb), respectively. The continuous expression of these early oncoproteins can lead to the transformation and immortalization of infected cells. Both, E6 and E7 co-operate to induce transformation of epithelial cells by interacting with numerous host cell proteins affectingmany essential cellular pathways. Herein, the current knowledge on HPV E6 and E7, as well as on the auxiliary E5 oncoprotein is summarized.
Language: English
Subfield: Epidemiology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2131868342