Mitotic kinesin-like protein 2 binds and colocalizes with papillomavirus E2 during mitosis

MK1p2 is a kinesin-like motor protein of the central mitotic spindle required for completion of cytokinesis. Papillomavirus E2 is a sequence specific DNA binding protein that regulates viral transcription and replication and is responsible for partitioning viral episomes into daughter cells during cell division. We demonstrate that MK1p2 specifically associates with the E2 protein during mitosis. Using chromatin immunoprecipitation, we show viral genomes are in complex with MK1p2 only within this stage of cell cycle. By immunofluorescence, a subpopulation of papillomavirus E2 colocalizes with MK1p2 in the midbody/midplate during late mitosis. We conclude that during specific stages of mitosis, the papillomavirus E2 protein binds to MK1p2, and infer that association with this motor protein ensures viral genome partitioning during cytokinesis.