HPV can infect normal epithelial cells. The human papilloma virus is housed in a protective shell made of a protein called L1. As the virus enters a cell, the L1 protein coat degrades, leading to the release of the virus’ genetic material in a cell’s nucleus. In the nucleus, the DNA from the virus is transcribed by messenger RNA, which carries viral DNA snippets to the cellular DNA, where it is integrated and eventually translated into proteins called E6 and E7, which can lead to cancer.