Human papillomavirus infection requires cell surface heparan sulfate.

Abstract

Using pseudoinfection of cell lines, we demonstrate that cell surface heparan sulfate is required for infection by human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV-16) and HPV-33 pseudovirions. Pseudoinfection was inhibited by heparin but not dermatan or chondroitin sulfate, reduced by reducing the level of surface sulfation, and abolished by heparinase treatment. Carboxy-terminally deleted HPV-33 virus-like particles still bound efficiently to heparin. The kinetics of postattachment neutralization by antiserum or heparin indicated that pseudovirions were shifted on the cell surface from a heparin-sensitive into a heparin-resistant mode of binding, possibly involving a secondary receptor. Alpha-6 integrin is not a receptor for HPV-33 pseudoinfection.