Inhibition by cellular vacuolar ATPase impairs human papillomavirus uncoating and infection.

ABSTRACT Several viruses, including human papillomaviruses, depend on endosomal acidification for successful infection. Hence, the multisubunit enzyme vacuolar ATPase (V-ATPase), which is mainly responsible for endosome acidification in the cell, represents an attractive target for antiviral strategies. In the present study, we show that V-ATPase is required for human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and that uncoating/disassembly but not endocytosis is affected by V-ATPase inhibition. The infection inhibitory potencies of saliphenylhalamide, a proven V-ATPase inhibitor, and its derivatives, as well as those of other V-ATPase inhibitors, were analyzed on different HPV types in relevant cell l…