Natural History of Human Papillomavirus Infection

Abstract

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is strongly associated with cervical precancerous lesions and invasive cervical cancers. HPVs are classified as high-risk, low-risk, and intermediated-risk groups. Cervical precancerous lesions and invasive cervical cancers are caused by the high-risk group. Cancer progression is associated with persistent high-risk HPV infection and deregulated viral gene expression, which leads to excessive cell proliferation, deficient DNA repair, and genetic damage to infected cells. The life cycle of the high- or low-risk groups is similar; however, in the high-risk group, E6 and E7 proteins interact with p53, PDZ domain protein, and retinoblastoma protein. In this article, we reviewed the natural life cycle of carcinogenic HPVs to help understand cervical disease.