Human papillomavirus 16 (HPV16) enters its host cells by a process that most closely resembles macropinocytosis. Uncoating occurs during passage through the endosomal compartment, and the low pH encountered in this environment is essential for infection. Furin cleavage of the minor capsid protein, L2, and cyclophilin B-mediated separation of L2 and the viral genome from the major capsid protein, L1, are necessary for escape from the late endosome (LE). Following this exodus, L2 and the genome are found colocalized at the ND10 nuclear subdomain, which is essential for efficient pseudogenome expression. However, the route by which L2 and the genome traverse the intervening cytoplasm between these two subcellular compartments has not been determined. This study extends our understanding of this phase in PV entry in demonstrating the involvement of the Golgi complex. With confocal microscopic analyses involving 5-ethynyl-2=-deoxyuridine (EdU)-labeled pseudogenomes and antibodies to virion and cellular proteins, we found that the viral pseudogenome and L2 travel to the trans-Golgi network (TGN) following exit from the LE, while L1 is retained. This transit is dependent upon furin cleavage of L2 and can be prevented pharmacologically with either brefeldin A or golgicide A, inhibitors of anterograde and retrograde Golgi trafficking. Additionally, Rab9a and Rab7b were determined to be mediators of this transit, as expression of dominant negative versions of these proteins, but not Rab7a, significantly inhibited HPV16 pseudovirus infection. P apillomaviruses (PV) comprise a large family of nonenveloped viruses that infect epithelial sites in many species. The high-risk human papillomaviruses (HPV) are the causative agents of some common malignancies, most notably cervical cancer. The virus capsid, which encloses the 8-kb double-stranded circular DNA genome, is composed of 72 pentamers of the major capsid protein L1 and up to 72 copies of L2, the minor capsid protein. The L1 protein possesses the ability to self-assemble in the absence of L2. In the virion, each molecule of L2 is associated with an L1 pentamer, but it is largely buried within the intact, mature virus capsid and exerts its influence largely after the entry and uncoating process, rather than during initial host engagement (1).Elucidation of the infectious entry by PV has been established mainly through the in vitro study of HPV pseudovirions, which are composed of L1-L2 capsids surrounding a reporter plasmid. These particles, structurally indistinguishable from native virions, are considered to be relevant tools to study PV infection and entry (2). Following the initial interaction of HPV pseudovirions with the host cell (in vitro) or the basement membrane (in vivo), a conformational change in the capsid leads to exposure of the N terminus of L2, which allows access of furin to a consensus furin/ proprotein convertase site at the N terminus that is conserved across all known L2 species (3). This cleavage is necessary for infectious entry of the virus, altho...