[Oncogenic potential of papillomaviruses]

Papillomaviruses belong to a group of viruses with double-stranded DNA (dsDNA). These viruses are believed to induce benign as well as malignant tumour growth. Thanks to professor zur Hausen, the connection between the infection by human papillomaviruses (HPV) and cervix cancer was described in detail a few years ago. However, there exist certain types of HPV viruses, in which no association with malignancies was ever demonstrated. Hence, we can divide HPV into "high-risk" (HR) and "low-risk" (LR) group. Our work describes the life cycle of HPV, molecular mechanisms of oncogenesis and aims to compare HR HPV and LR HPV within these terms.