Human papillomavirus infection requires cell surface heparan sulfate.

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.