A crystallizable composition, comprising an human papillomavirus (HPV-11)
E2 transactivation domain (TAD)-like polypeptide of SEQ ID NO. 2
complexed with an inhibitor L (sodium
(2R,3R,4S,5R)-5-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-5'-methyl-1',3'-dioxo-4-({[4-(1,2,3--
thiadiazol-4-yl)phenyl]amino}carbonyl)-1',3',4,5-tetrahydro-3H-spiro[furan-
-2,2'-indene]-3-carboxylate). The invention also provides a method for
producing the crystallized HPV E2 TAD-inhibitor complex (HPV E2 TAD-L)
comprising: a) mixing purified HPV E2 TAD, contained in a purification
buffer, with solublized inhibitor L to generate a complex solution
containing the HPV E2 TAD-L complex; and b) crystallizing the complex
from a) in a crystallization buffer. The invention also provides a method
for producing crystallized apo HPV E2 TAD, comprising: a) mixing apo HPV
E2 TAD, contained in a purification buffer, with a crystallization
buffer.X-ray crystal structure coordinates the HPV E2 TAD-L complex, are
also provided, which define an inhibitor binding pocket. The inhibitor
binding pocket is useful for screening potential small molecule
inhibitors that bind to the pocket that may be inhibitors of
papillomavirus infection.