HPV- Human Papillomavirus Infection
By: Brooke Covington
Symptoms
Most patients with HPV don't develop any symptoms, but some have encountered warts on the genitals or surrounding skin.
Causes of HPV
The virus can entered into the body in various ways. One way the virus can enter your body is primarily by skin-to-skin contact, or by a cut, or abrasion on the outermost layer of your skin. Another type of HPV is Genital HPV and is caused by sexual contact, or anal sex and skin contact in the genital region.
Immune cells involvement in Response
The response is started when the lymph nodes drain and are responded to by the macro phages and Langerhans. Langerhans are antigen-presenting immune cells or dendritic cell. B and T cells are also involved in the response.
Replication
The process of the HPV is a lysogenic cycle. This is a Lysogenic cycle because you can go without months or lifelong without showing any symptoms of the virus.
Steps of Lysogenic Cycle:
First the virus attaches to the host cell and injects DNA inside. Next the viral DNA circularizes inside the cell. (no exposed DNA ends). Third thing in the cycle is when viral DNA integrates into the host cells chromosomes. This leads to the reproduction in the host cell of normal, copied integrated DNA, that is transmitted into daughter cells. This leads to many infected cells. Next when triggered the viral DNA exits the host cell chromosome and initiates the Lytic cycle.
Treatement
There is no cure for HPV, but the treatment helps. The treatment manly tries to get rid of the warts, if they don't go away on there own.
PREVENTION
There are two vaccines approved by the FDA to prevent HPV. The two are Cervarix and and Gardasil. Gardasil protects against genital warts. (better vaccinated before sexually active).