scholarly journals Coarse-Grained Simulations of the HIV-1 Matrix Protein Anchoring: Revisiting Its Assembly on Membrane Domains

2014 ◽  
Vol 106 (3) ◽  
pp. 577-585 ◽  
Author(s):  
Landry Charlier ◽  
Maxime Louet ◽  
Laurent Chaloin ◽  
Patrick Fuchs ◽  
Jean Martinez ◽  
...  
2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
John M A Grime ◽  
James F Dama ◽  
Barbie K Ganser-Pornillos ◽  
Cora L Woodward ◽  
Grant J Jensen ◽  
...  

The maturation of HIV-1 viral particles is essential for viral infectivity. During maturation, many copies of the capsid protein (CA) self-assemble into a capsid shell to enclose the viral RNA. The mechanistic details of the initiation and early stages of capsid assembly remain to be delineated. We present coarse-grained simulations of capsid assembly under various conditions, considering not only capsid lattice self-assembly but also the potential disassembly of capsid upon delivery to the cytoplasm of a target cell. The effects of CA concentration, molecular crowding, and the conformational variability of CA are described, with results indicating that capsid nucleation and growth is a multi-stage process requiring well-defined metastable intermediates. Generation of the mature capsid lattice is sensitive to local conditions, with relatively subtle changes in CA concentration and molecular crowding influencing self-assembly and the ensemble of structural morphologies.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas G. Flower ◽  
Yoshinori Takahashi ◽  
Arpa Hudait ◽  
Kevin Rose ◽  
Nicholas Tjahjono ◽  
...  

AbstractThe ESCRT complexes drive membrane scission in HIV-1 release, autophagosome closure, MVB biogenesis, cytokinesis, and other cell processes. ESCRT-I is the most upstream complex and bridges the system to HIV-1 Gag in virus release. The crystal structure of the headpiece of human ESCRT-I comprising TSG101:VPS28:VPS37B:MVB12A was determined, revealing an ESCRT-I helical assembly with a 12 molecule repeat. Electron microscopy confirmed that ESCRT-I subcomplexes form helical filaments in solution. Mutation of VPS28 helical interface residues blocks filament formation in vitro and autophagosome closure and HIV-1 release in human cells. Coarse grained simulations of ESCRT assembly at HIV-1 budding sites suggest that formation of a 12-membered ring of ESCRT-I molecules is a geometry-dependent checkpoint during late stages of Gag assembly and HIV-1 budding, and templates ESCRT-III assembly for membrane scission. These data show that ESCRT-I is not merely a bridging adaptor, but has an essential scaffolding and mechanical role in its own right.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonas Landsgesell ◽  
Oleg Rud ◽  
Pascal Hebbeker ◽  
Raju Lunkad ◽  
Peter Košovan ◽  
...  

We introduce the grand-reaction method for coarse-grained simulations of acid-base equilibria in a system coupled to a reservoir at a given pH and concentration of added salt. It can be viewed as an extension of the constant-pH method and the reaction ensemble, combining explicit simulations of reactions within the system, and grand-canonical exchange of particles with the reservoir. Unlike the previously introduced methods, the grand-reaction method is applicable to acid-base equilibria in the whole pH range because it avoids known artifacts. However, the method is more general, and can be used for simulations of any reactive system coupled to a reservoir of a known composition. To demonstrate the advantages of the grand-reaction method, we simulated a model system: A solution of weak polyelectrolytes in equilibrium with a buffer solution. By carefully accounting for the exchange of all constituents, the method ensures that all chemical potentials are equal in the system and in the multi-component reservoir. Thus, the grand-reaction method is able to predict non-monotonic swelling of weak polyelectrolytes as a function of pH, that has been known from mean-field predictions and from experiments but has never been observed in coarse-grained simulations. Finally, we outline possible extensions and further generalizations of the method, and provide a set of guidelines to enable safe usage of the method by a broad community of users.<br><br>


2014 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 846-856 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesca Caccuri ◽  
Christine Rueckert ◽  
Cinzia Giagulli ◽  
Kai Schulze ◽  
Daniele Basta ◽  
...  

Objective— AIDS-related lymphomas are high grade and aggressively metastatic with poor prognosis. Lymphangiogenesis is essential in supporting proliferation and survival of lymphoma, as well as tumor dissemination. Data suggest that aberrant lymphangiogenesis relies on action of HIV-1 proteins rather than on a direct effect of the virus itself. HIV-1 matrix protein p17 was found to accumulate and persist in lymph nodes of patients even under highly active antiretroviral therapy. Because p17 was recently found to exert a potent proangiogenic activity by interacting with chemokine (C-X-C motif) receptors 1 and 2, we tested the prolymphangiogenic activity of the viral protein. Approach and Results— Human primary lymph node–derived lymphatic endothelial cells were used to perform capillary-like structure formation, wound healing, spheroids, and Western blot assays after stimulation with or without p17. Here, we show that p17 promotes lymphangiogenesis by binding to chemokine (C-X-C motif) receptor-1 and chemokine (C-X-C motif) receptor-2 expressed on lymph node–derived lymphatic endothelial cells and activating the Akt/extracellular signal–regulated kinase signaling pathway. In particular, it was found to induce capillary-like structure formation, sprout formation from spheroids, and increase lymph node–derived lymphatic endothelial cells motility. The p17 lymphangiogenic activity was, in part, sustained by activation of the endothelin-1/endothelin receptor B axis. A Matrigel plug assay showed that p17 was able to promote the outgrowth of lymphatic vessels in vivo, demonstrating that p17 directly regulates lymphatic vessel formation. Conclusions— Our results suggest that p17 may generate a prolymphangiogenic microenvironment and plays a role in predisposing the lymph node to lymphoma growth and metastasis. This finding offers new opportunities to identify treatment strategies in combating AIDS-related lymphomas.


2002 ◽  
Vol 76 (4) ◽  
pp. 1569-1577 ◽  
Author(s):  
Feng Li ◽  
Chaoping Chen ◽  
Bridget A. Puffer ◽  
Ronald C. Montelaro

ABSTRACT We have previously demonstrated by Gag polyprotein budding assays that the Gag p9 protein of equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) utilizes a unique YPDL motif as a late assembly domain (L domain) to facilitate release of the budding virus particle from the host cell plasma membrane (B. A. Puffer, L. J. Parent, J. W. Wills, and R. C. Montelaro, J. Virol. 71:6541-6546, 1997). To characterize in more detail the role of the YPDL L domain in the EIAV life cycle, we have examined the replication properties of a series of EIAV proviral mutants in which the parental YPDL L domain was replaced by a human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) PTAP or Rous sarcoma virus (RSV) PPPY L domain in the p9 protein or by proviruses in which the parental YPDL or HIV-1 PTAP L domain was inserted in the viral matrix protein. The replication properties of these L-domain variants were examined with respect to Gag protein expression and processing, virus particle production, and virus infectivity. The data from these experiments indicate that (i) the YPDL L domain of p9 is required for replication competence (assembly and infectivity) in equine cell cultures, including the natural target equine macrophages; (ii) all of the functions of the YPDL L domain in the EIAV life cycle can be replaced by replacement of the parental YPDL sequence in p9 with the PTAP L-domain segment of HIV-1 p6 or the PPPY L domain of RSV p2b; and (iii) the assembly, but not infectivity, functions of the EIAV proviral YPDL substitution mutants can be partially rescued by inclusions of YPDL and PTAP L-domain sequences in the C-terminal region of the EIAV MA protein. Taken together, these data demonstrate that the EIAV YPDL L domain mediates distinct functions in viral budding and infectivity and that the HIV-1 PTAP and RSV PPPY L domains can effectively facilitate these dual replication functions in the context of the p9 protein. In light of the fact that YPDL, PTAP, and PPPY domains evidently have distinct characteristic binding specificities, these observations may indicate different portals into common cellular processes that mediate EIAV budding and infectivity, respectively.


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