Refining our understanding of cervical neoplasia and its cellular origins.

ABSTRACT: Human papillomaviruses (HPV) cause cancer at a number of vulnerable epithelial sites, including the cervix, the anus and the oropharynx, with cervical cancer being the most significant in terms of numbers. The cervix has a complex epithelial organisation, and comprises the stratified epithelium of the ectocervix, the columnar epithelium of the endocervix, and the cervical transformation zone (TZ). Most cervical cancers arise at the TZ, which is a site where a stratified squamous epithelium can develop via metaplasia from a simple columnar epithelium. It is thought that this process is mediated by the cervical reserve cell, a specialised type of stem cell that is located at the TZ, which has been proposed as the target cell for HPV infection. Reserve cells may be derived from the basal cell

SUBMITTER: Doorbar J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6477515 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature