The expression of the viral late genes, L1 and L2, is exclusively restricted to differentiating keratinocytes in the outermost layers of the skin or mucosal surface. The increased expression of L1 and L2 is typically correlated with a dramatic increase in the number of copies of the viral genome. Since the outer layers of stratified squamous epithelia are subject to relatively limited surveillance by cells of the immune system, it is thought that this restriction of viral late gene expression represents a form of immune evasion.