Papillomaviruses (PVs) are small non-enveloped viruses with a circular
DNA genome encoding the viral early and late genes. The expression of late gene
generates the structural L1 and L2 proteins, whereas early gene expression produces
the regulatory proteins (E1-E8). The L1 and L2 proteins have important roles in virion
assembly. Among the regulatory proteins, E7 and E6 oncoproteins play an important
role in benign and also malignant transformation. For instance, a variant of HPV16
with the minimal differences in E6 sequence (Q14H/H78Y/L83V) found in cervical
cancers is more effective for virus replication and maintenance as well as cell
immortalization compared to other HPV types. Regarding the role of early proteins in
the HPV life cycle, all proteins encoded by the HPV genome and their functions will be
described in this chapter.
Keywords: Early and late proteins, Genome, HPV, Infection, Structure.Early and late proteins, Genome, HPV, Infection, Structure.
