ABSTRACT
Papillomaviruses are a large family of viruses which contain double-stranded DNA and infect higher vertebrates. This class of viruses exclusively causes lesions of the epithelium of the skin and mucous. This chapter discusses the relationship between the regulation and carcinogenic progression of human papillomaviruses (HPV) infection. It focuses on a subclass of HPVs that have been found associated with lesions of the anogenital tract. The chapter also discusses the interplay between transcription and replication controls in the HPV life cycle. HPV can accomplish a complete cycle only in fully differentiated epithelia. In this regard, organotypic cultures, where keratinocytes can undergo complete differentiation, present unique systems in which to study the HPV life cycle. Disruption of the E1 or E2 open reading frame by integration of the viral DNA into the cellular genome, which occurs frequently in cervical cancers associated with HPV type 18, would abolish E2 expression.
