Human papilloma virus (HPV) is a growing concern among Americans, as one study found that, among men and women under 50, about 75 percent have, or have had, an HPV infection. HPV is one of the leading causes of cervical cancer in women.

Once infected, it’s often very difficult to get rid of the virus because it hides within the body’s epithelial tissue, which makes up skin cells, and the lining of various organs. The virus spreads as these epithelial cells divide.

A research team at UC Berkeley has created a protein fragment (peptide) which has successfully prevented the virus from spreading as cell’s divide. This means that a drug created from the peptide would prevent the virus from spreading or generating warts. [tag-tec]HPV[/tag-tec] warts are the first stage of the virus’ progression to cancer.

The protein fragment binds to the E2 location which is normally responsible for causing the virus to spread. By binding to the E2 site, the peptide prevents the virus from spreading.

The [tag-tec]E2 protein[/tag-tec] is only found in papilloma viruses, so any drug that blocks E2 should not have any negative side effects for humans.

The study was supported by The National Institutes of Health.

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