Incoming human papillomavirus 16 genome is lost in PML protein-deficient HACAT keratinocytes.

Human papillomaviruses (HPVs) target PML nuclear bodies during infectious entry and PML protein is important for efficient transcription of incoming viral genome.We used shRNA to knockdown PML protein in HaCaT keratinocytes to further investigate the role of PML protein in HPV entry. We used microarrays to compare the transcriptome of PML protein-deficient with vector control-transduced HaCaT cells. HaCaT cells were transduced with lentiviruses expresing shRNA directed against PML or scrambled control. Stable cell lines were then selected with puromycin. A PML-deficient single-cell clone and vector control cells were used to isolate total RNA.