Human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV16) is the most common cause of cervical carcinoma. Cervical cancer develops from low-grade lesions that support the productive stages of the virus life cycle. The 16E1 ∧ E4 protein is abundantly expressed in such lesions and can be detected in cells supporting vegetative viral genome amplification. Using an inducible mammalian expression system, we have shown that 16E1 ∧ E4 arrests HeLa cervical epithelial cells in G 2 . 16E1 ∧ E4 also caused a G 2 arrest in SiHa, Saos-2 and Saccharomyces pombe cells and, as with HeLa cells, was found in the cytoplasm. However, whereas 16E1 ∧ E4 is found on the keratin networks in HeLa and SiHa cells, in Saos-2 and S. pombe cells that lack keratins, 16E1 ∧ E4 had a punctate distribution. Mutagenesis studies revealed a proline-rich region between amino acids 17 and 45 of 16E1 ∧ E4 to be important for arrest. This region, which we have termed the "arrest domain," contains a putative nuclear localization signal, a cyclin-binding motif, and a single cyclin-dependent kinase (Cdk) phosphorylation site. A single point mutation in the putative Cdk phosphorylation site (T23A) abolished 16E1 ∧ E4-mediated G 2 arrest. Arrest did not involve proteins regulating the phosphorylation state of Cdc2 and does not appear to involve the activation of the DNA damage or incomplete replication checkpoint. G 2 arrest was also mediated by the E1 ∧ E4 protein of HPV11, a low-risk mucosal HPV type that also causes cervical lesions. The E1 ∧ E4 protein of HPV1, which is more distantly related to that of HPV16, did not cause G 2 arrest. We conclude that, like other papillomavirus proteins, 16E1 ∧ E4 affects cell cycle progression and that it targets a conserved component of the cell cycle machinery.Papillomaviruses are small DNA viruses that infect the epithelial tissue of a wide range of vertebrates, including humans (47). Infection begins in cells of the basal layer, with the productive stages of the virus life cycle being initiated as these infected cells migrate toward the epithelial surface. In this way, the virus life cycle is tightly linked to the differentiation of the epithelium, which makes human papillomaviruses (HPVs) difficult to study in the laboratory (37). More than 200 papillomavirus types have been identified (12). These share a common organization of their ϳ8-kb genomes but differ in the types of epithelium they infect and the pathologies that each virus causes (47). Infection occurs at cutaneous epithelial sites, i.e., the skin, for viruses such as HPV type 1 (HPV1) or at mucosal sites (e.g., the anogenital tract or the cervix) for viruses such as HPV11 and HPV16 (47). HPVs are additionally classified from low to high risk, with low-risk viruses such as HPV11 (and HPV1) being associated solely with benign lesions (often known as warts), whereas lesions caused by highrisk viruses such as HPV16 can progress to malignancy (47). HPV16 is the most prevalent high-risk virus and is the most common causative agent of cervical cancers (68).Although the 16E1 ∧ E4 ...