A joint study has shed light on how exactly the Human papillomavirus (HPV) harms our body.

Researchers led by Dr David Symer examined 10 cancer-cell lines and two head and neck tumor samples from patients and made use of whole-genome sequencing and several molecular assays, including RNA sequencing, spectral karyotyping (SKY) and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). The study has been published in the journal Genome Research.
“HPV can act like a tornado hitting the genome, disrupting and rearranging nearby host-cell genes. This can lead to overexpression of cancer-causing genes in some cases, or it can disrupt protective tumor-suppressor genes in others. Both kinds of damage likely promote the development of cancer”, Symer said.
Source-Medindia