Control of immune escaped human papilloma virus is regained after therapeutic vaccination

HPV infects the basal cells of epithelia and requires the differentiation of the cells to produce virions. The structural proteins of the viral particles are processed by dendritic cells and stimulate T-cell responses that do not attack the basal cells as these proteins are only expressed in the higher layers. HPV infection results in innate immune signalling and stimulate protective T-cell reactivity against the early proteins with as result termination of infection (I). Increased HPV protein production will suppress innate signalling, prevent the stimulation of protective immunity, upregulate partial immune resistance and allow the infection to progress (II). At this stage therapeutic vaccines are required to induce strong T-cell immunity able to cure HPV-associated disease (III).