General aspects of the structure and function of the proteins encoded by the Human Papillomavirus

Abstract

Human papillomavirus is the causative agent of one of the most widespread transmitted infections worldwide that mainly affect the population of females. The molecular mechanisms of how HPV establishes the infection are complex and the pathways by means of HPV performs the viral cycle are subject to a complex regulation of its genome, which contains eight open reading frames (MAL) that encode a series of key proteins (E6, E7, E1, E4, E2, E5, L2, L1) for maintenaning the viral cycle in host cells, including E8 ^ E2. This results from fusion of the products E2 and E8 MAL. The ability of L1 protein to self-assemble into virus-like particles has allowed the development of the prophylactic vaccines Gardasil and Cervarix, which have proven effective in preventing infections caused by HPV. Despite of the advances in the development of immunogens, it is necessary to move forward in the design of future vaccines against HPV infections, taking into account the wide variety of viral types and the high cost of current vaccines.