Molecular Biology of Human Papillomavirus Infection 2

人乳头瘤病毒（HPV）是一种常见的病毒。它们都感染上皮组织，如皮肤，但有些会导致普通疣，而另一些会导致生殖器疣。某些HPV类型被归类为高风险，因为它们会导致宫颈病变（扁平疣），在某些女性中可能会进展为宫颈癌。这些高危HPV类型几乎是全球所有宫颈癌病例的原因。子宫颈癌是妇女中第二常见的癌症，每年约有50万例。||我们的目标是了解疾病的分子基础，并确定解除正常病毒生命周期的事件。这项工作遵循一些不同的路径。一方面建立了病毒蛋白的功能，目的是了解它们如何共同作用产生疾病。作为这项工作的一部分，我们正在使用皮肤模型系统在实验室中培养病毒。这项工作的另一个方面是研究病毒如何改变细胞基因表达，以及是什么导致宫颈疣样感染进展为肿瘤。这项工作有可能改善宫颈筛查和更好的疫苗接种和治疗策略。

There are many different types of human papillomavirus (HPV). They all infect epithelial tissue such as the skin, but some cause common warts while others cause genital warts. Certain HPV types are classified as high-risk, because they cause cervical lesions (flat warts) that can in some women progress to cervical cancer. These high-risk HPV types are responsible for virtually all cases of cervical cancer worldwide. Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer amongst women with about half a million cases occurring each year.||Our aim is to understand the molecular basis of disease, and to identify the events that deregulate the normal virus life cycle. This work follows a number of different paths. One aspect establishes the function of the viral proteins and aims to understand how they work together to produce disease. As part of this work we are using model systems of the skin to culture the virus in the laboratory. Another aspect of the work is looking at how the virus changes cellular gene expression, and what causes a wart like infection of the cervix to progress to neoplasia. This work has potential for improved cervical screening and better strategies for vaccination and therapy.