Human papillomaviruses and cell signaling.

Human papillomaviruses cause cancer of the stratified epithelium, and the incidence of infection with these viruses in the genital tract is high. The alterations in the biology of normal epithelial cells that lead to malignancy are a consequence of the activity of certain viral proteins, whose function is to create an environment conducive to the replication of the viral genome through inhibition of epithelial cell differentiation and stimulation of proliferation.