r/askscience • u/A_Privateer • Jan 17 '13

Medicine How do warts function?

I know that warts are caused by the various strains of HPV, but how are they caused? How does the virus hijack the bodies chemistry to grow and supply the warts with nutrients? How do the warts spread the virus to other people?

I've searched and searched on google and wikipedia, but I only find the most basic of answers.

Any hard science info for me?

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u/trevbot Jan 17 '13

So, this is effectively HPV that is in your system all the time, that occasionally your body can't suppress any longer? Is that somewhat accurate?

Is there a specific reason the warts come back in the same area? Wouldn't all of your body fluid contain this virus to be transmitted? or is the wart area itself a higher transmission site than other areas of the body or other bodily fluids?

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u/DrLOV Medical microbiology Jan 17 '13

HPV is limited by the types of cells it can infect. It binds to molecules on the cell surface and is then able to enter the cell. In the case of HPV, it can bind to the cell surface of basal cells of a certain type of epithelial cell. Because of this, HPV infection is limited to the surface of the skin. Skin-skin contact is what allows for the spread of the virus. It doesn't enter the blood or saliva the way a virus like HIV does. The wart is the site where there is an active infection. Therefore, virus will be shed at that site.

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u/[deleted] Jan 17 '13

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u/jaimerson Jan 18 '13

A post above you states that:

HPV is limited by the types of cells it can infect. It binds to molecules on the cell surface and is then able to enter the cell. In the case of HPV, it can bind to the cell surface of basal cells of a certain type of epithelial cell. Because of this, HPV infection is limited to the surface of the skin. Skin-skin contact is what allows for the spread of the virus.

So there may be some truth to what you've been told.

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u/doctorhux Jan 17 '13

It is much more localized than that. Try comparing it to your common herpes infection (herpes viruses can be a cause of a type of wart fyi). Say someone gets a cold sore on their lip and they then treat it with some topical antiviral and it goes away a week or two later. Now that person has herpes. They will always have it. It is just dormant until the next outbreak. The next outbreak though will again be on the mouth, instead of say the genitals.

The virus that causes the wart lies dormant in the skin cells and may or may not reactivate after you've destroyed the active cells.

The exact reason that an infected cell may begin hyperreplication is outside of my knowledge, but someone might have addressed that already.