Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 22, 2026

Generation of Organotypic Raft Cultures from Primary Human Keratinocytes
Published on: February 22, 2012
Productive Lifecycle of Human Papillomaviruses that Depends Upon Squamous Epithelial Differentiation
Naoko Kajitani1, Ayano Satsuka, Akifumi Kawate
1Laboratory of Mammalian Molecular Biology, Graduate School of Biostudies, Kyoto University Kyoto, Japan.
Abstract:
Human papillomaviruses (HPVs) target the stratified epidermis, and can causes diseases ranging from benign condylomas to malignant tumors. Infections of HPVs in the genital tract are among the most common sexually transmitted diseases, and a major risk factor for cervical cancer. The virus targets epithelial cells in the basal layer of the epithelium, while progeny virions egress from terminally differentiated cells in the cornified layer, the surface layer of the epithelium. In infected basal cells, the virus maintains its genomic DNA at low-copy numbers, at which the viral productive lifecycle cannot proceed. Progression of the productive lifecycle requires differentiation of the host cell, indicating that there is tight crosstalk between viral replication and host differentiation programs. In this review, we discuss the regulation of the HPV lifecycle controlled by the differentiation program of the host cells.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Retrovirus Life Cycles
Renewal of Skin Epidermal Stem Cells
Lytic Cycle of Bacteriophages
What are Viruses?
Classification of Epithelial Tissues: Stratified Epithelium
Cellular Adaptation IV: Dysplasia and Metaplasia

