Human papillomaviruses (HPVs) are small DNA viruses with a pronounced tropism for epithelial cells. Of the greater than 200 HPV types that have been identified, a subgroup specifically infects mucosal epithelia. These mucosal HPVs are classified as "low-risk" and "high-risk," depending on the propensity for malignant progression of the lesions that they cause. Low-risk HPVs, such as HPV type 6 (HPV6) and HPV11, cause genital warts, whereas high-risk HPVs, such as HPV16 and HPV18, cause squamous intraepithelial lesions, which can undergo malignant progression. High-risk HPVs are associated with greater than 99% of cervical carcinomas and are also associated with other anogenital tumors and approximately 25% of oral cancers (reviewed in references 43 and 58). During carcinogenic progression the HPV genome frequently integrates into a host cell chromosome, resulting in persistent and dysregulated expression of the HPV E6 and E7 proteins. High-risk HPV E6 and E7 proteins have oncogenic activities and are necessary for the induction and maintenance of the transformed phenotype of cervical cancer cells (reviewed in reference 43). The best described cellular targets of the HPV E6 and E7 oncoproteins are the tumor suppressors p53 and retinoblastoma (pRB), respectively (reviewed in references 25 and 42). High-risk HPV E6 proteins cause proteasomal degradation of p53 through association with the cellular ubiquitin ligase E6AP (57). In addition to p53, other high-risk HPV E6-associated cellular proteins, including PDZ proteins, such as hDlg, hScribble, MUPP1, and MAGI 1 that bind to E6 through a carboxyl-terminal PDZ binding domain, may also be degraded by the E6/E6AP complex (19,21,29,32,33,47,61). High-risk HPV E6 proteins also transcriptionally activate hTERT, the catalytic protein subunit of human telomerase (30).HPVs initially infect basal epithelial cells, where the viral episome is maintained extrachromosomally at a low copy number. High-level viral genome replication and production of progeny virus, however, is confined to the outer, terminally differentiated layers of the infected squamous epithelium, where metabolic activity of the host cells and nutrient availability are presumably more limited. Moreover, HPV16 E7 expression may induce metabolic stress by inducing the "Warburg effect," a switch from an oxidative phosphorylation-based mode to a glycolytic mode of glucose metabolism (67). Consistent with this notion, we reported that HPV16 E7 expression in human keratinocytes triggers an autophagy-like process (65), which may serve to generate metabolites that can be used for energy-consuming processes, including viral replication.The mammalian target of the rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) signaling cascade serves as a metabolic sensor, integrating a diverse array of signals, including nutrient and growth factor availability. mTORC1 signaling regulates a variety of cellular processes, including cell growth, viability, and proliferation, at