HPVs and Cervical Cancer Part 1

Cervical cancer is cancer of the cervix, which is the opening of the womb at the top of the vagina. Its pathogenesis is almost always triggered by initial infection of the cervical epithelium with Human Papillomavirus (HPV), which is a sexually transmitted viral infection.

In this video we discuss the different types of HPV and which of them are capable of infecting the cervical epithelium and beginning the cancer pathogenesis pathway. After this we look at the mechanisms by which they infect the cervical epithelial cells and disturb the cellular replication control mechanisms to produce excessive cell division. Specifically we examine in detail the HPV E6 and E7 proteins, which interfere with the p53 and Rb/E2F pathways respectively. Finally we look at how the replication disturbances produced by the HPV results in cells that are high risk for accruing further mutations and heading down the path towards being cancerous.

We end the video by finally discussing the vaccinations available for HPVs. We discuss the immunological response they produce and how this prevents an individual from becoming infected with the virus in the first place and hence protects against cervical cancer.