ABSTRACT
Cervical cancer is the second most common malignant tumor of women all over the world.Infection with oncogenic human papilloma virus ( HPV) types is the most important risk factor to cause cervical cancer.The viral genome of HPV consists of three regions:the early region (E), the late region (L) and the long control region (LCR).The early proteins (E1, E2, E4, E5, E6, E7 ) play vital roles in the continuous virus expression and replication in cells.Among these proteins, E6 protein has the closest relationship with the tumorogenesis and development of cervical cancer.Many mechanisms of the HPV encoded early protein E6 in in-ducing cervical cancer have been characterized, including degradation of p53 protein, activation of telomerase, interaction with PDZ protein, disturbance of cellular signaling pathways, inhibition of immune recognition and blockage of cellular apoptosis.HPV E6 pro-tein may be a preferred target in prevention and treatment of cervical cancer.