scholarly journals Preservation of HIV-1 Gag helical bundle symmetry by bevirimat is central to maturation inhibition

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander J. Pak ◽  
Michael D. Purdy ◽  
Mark Yeager ◽  
Gregory A. Voth

The assembly and maturation of human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1) requires proteolytic cleavage of the Gag polyprotein. The rate-limiting step resides at the junction between the capsid protein CA and spacer peptide 1, which assembles as a six-helix bundle (6HB). bevirimat (BVM), the first-in-class maturation inhibitor drug, targets the 6HB and impedes proteolytic cleavage, yet the molecular mechanisms of its activity, and relatedly, the escape mechanisms of mutant viruses, remain unclear. Here, we employed extensive molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and free energy calculations to quantitatively investigate molecular structure-activity relationships, comparing wild-type and mutant viruses in the presence and absence of BVM and inositol hexakisphosphate (IP6), an assembly cofactor. Our analysis shows that the efficacy of BVM is directly correlated with preservation of six-fold symmetry in the 6HB, which exists as an ensemble of structural states. We identified two primary escape mechanisms, and both lead to loss of symmetry, thereby facilitating helix uncoiling to aid access of protease. Our findings also highlight specific interactions that can be targeted for improved inhibitor activity and support the use of MD simulations for future inhibitor design.

Life ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 100
Author(s):  
Eric Rossi ◽  
Megan E. Meuser ◽  
Camille J. Cunanan ◽  
Simon Cocklin

The capsid (CA) protein of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) is an essential structural component of a virion and facilitates many crucial life cycle steps through interactions with host cell factors. Capsid shields the reverse transcription complex from restriction factors while it enables trafficking to the nucleus by hijacking various adaptor proteins, such as FEZ1 and BICD2. In addition, the capsid facilitates the import and localization of the viral complex in the nucleus through interaction with NUP153, NUP358, TNPO3, and CPSF-6. In the later stages of the HIV-1 life cycle, CA plays an essential role in the maturation step as a constituent of the Gag polyprotein. In the final phase of maturation, Gag is cleaved, and CA is released, allowing for the assembly of CA into a fullerene cone, known as the capsid core. The fullerene cone consists of ~250 CA hexamers and 12 CA pentamers and encloses the viral genome and other essential viral proteins for the next round of infection. As research continues to elucidate the role of CA in the HIV-1 life cycle and the importance of the capsid protein becomes more apparent, CA displays potential as a therapeutic target for the development of HIV-1 inhibitors.


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander J. Pak ◽  
John M. A. Grime ◽  
Prabuddha Sengupta ◽  
Antony K. Chen ◽  
Aleksander E. P. Durumeric ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTThe packaging and budding of Gag polyprotein and viral ribonucleic acid (RNA) is a critical step in the human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) lifecycle. High-resolution structures of the Gag polyprotein have revealed that the capsid (CA) and spacer peptide 1 (SP1) domains contain important interfaces for Gag self-assembly. However, the molecular details of the multimerization process, especially in the presence of RNA and the cell membrane, have remained unclear. In this work, we investigate the mechanisms that work in concert between the polyproteins, RNA, and membrane to promote immature lattice growth. We develop a coarse-grained (CG) computational model that is derived from sub-nanometer resolution structural data. Our simulations recapitulate contiguous and hexameric lattice assembly driven only by weak anisotropic attractions at the helical CA-SP1 junction. Importantly, analysis from CG and single-particle tracking photoactivated localization (spt-PALM) trajectories indicates that viral RNA and the membrane are critical constituents that actively promote Gag multimerization through scaffolding, while over-expression of short competitor RNA can suppress assembly. We also find that the CA amino-terminal domain imparts intrinsic curvature to the Gag lattice. As a consequence, immature lattice growth appears to be coupled to the dynamics of spontaneous membrane deformation. Our findings elucidate a simple network of interactions that regulate the early stages of HIV-1 assembly and budding.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENTIn order for human immunodeficiency virus to proliferate, viral proteins and genomic dimers are assembled at host cell membranes and released as immature virions. Disrupting this key intermediate step in viral replication is a potential target for treatment. However, a detailed molecular view of this process remains lacking. Here, we elucidate a network of constitutive interactions that regulate viral assembly dynamics through a combined computational and experimental approach. Specifically, our analysis reveals the active roles of nucleic acid and the membrane as scaffolds that promote the multimerization of Gag polyprotein which proceeds through multi-step and self-correcting nucleation. Our findings also illustrate the functional importance of the N-terminal, C-terminal, and spacer peptide 1 protein domains.


2009 ◽  
Vol 84 (4) ◽  
pp. 1977-1988 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karolína Bohmová ◽  
Romana Hadravová ◽  
Jitka Štokrová ◽  
Roman Tůma ◽  
Tomáš Ruml ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Assembly of immature retroviral particles is a complex process involving interactions of several specific domains of the Gag polyprotein localized mainly within capsid protein (CA), spacer peptide (SP), and nucleocapsid protein (NC). In the present work we focus on the contribution of NC to the oligomerization of CA leading to assembly of Mason-Pfizer monkey virus (M-PMV) and HIV-1. Analyzing in vitro assembly of substitution and deletion mutants of ΔProCANC, we identified a “spacer-like” sequence (NC15) at the M-PMV NC N terminus. This NC15 domain is indispensable for the assembly and cannot be replaced with oligomerization domains of GCN4 or CREB proteins. Although the M-PMV NC15 occupies a position analogous to that of the HIV-1 spacer peptide, it could not be replaced by the latter one. To induce the assembly, both M-PMV NC15 and HIV-1 SP1 must be followed by a short peptide that is rich in basic residues. This region either can be specific, i.e., derived from the downstream NC sequence, or can be a nonspecific positively charged peptide. However, it cannot be replaced by heterologous interaction domains either from GCN4 or from CREB. In summary, we report here a novel M-PMV spacer-like domain that is functionally similar to other retroviral spacer peptides and contributes to the assembly of immature-virus-like particles.


2007 ◽  
Vol 82 (5) ◽  
pp. 2405-2417 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vineela Chukkapalli ◽  
Ian B. Hogue ◽  
Vitaly Boyko ◽  
Wei-Shau Hu ◽  
Akira Ono

ABSTRACT Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) particle assembly mediated by the viral structural protein Gag occurs predominantly on the plasma membrane (PM). Although it is known that the matrix (MA) domain of Gag plays a major role in PM localization, molecular mechanisms that determine the location of assembly remain to be elucidated. We observed previously that overexpression of polyphosphoinositide 5-phosphatase IV (5ptaseIV) that depletes PM phosphatidylinositol-(4,5)-bisphosphate [PI(4,5)P2] impairs virus particle production and redirects processed Gag to intracellular compartments. In this study, we examined the impact of PI(4,5)P2 depletion on the subcellular localization of the entire Gag population using Gag-fluorescent protein chimeras. Upon 5ptaseIV overexpression, in addition to perinuclear localization, Gag also showed a hazy cytosolic signal, suggesting that PI(4,5)P2 depletion impairs Gag membrane binding. Indeed, Gag was less membrane bound in PI(4,5)P2-depleted cells, as assessed by biochemical analysis. These observations are consistent with the hypothesis that Gag interacts with PI(4,5)P2. To examine a putative Gag interaction with PI(4,5)P2, we developed an in vitro binding assay using full-length myristoylated Gag and liposome-associated PI(4,5)P2. Using this assay, we observed that PI(4,5)P2 significantly enhances liposome binding of wild-type Gag. In contrast, a Gag derivative lacking MA did not require PI(4,5)P2 for efficient liposome binding. To analyze the involvement of MA in PI(4,5)P2 binding further, we examined MA basic amino acid substitution mutants. These mutants, previously shown to localize in perinuclear compartments, bound PI(4,5)P2-containing liposomes weakly. Altogether, these results indicate that HIV-1 Gag binds PI(4,5)P2 on the membrane and that the MA basic domain mediates this interaction.


1999 ◽  
Vol 73 (7) ◽  
pp. 5388-5401 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Cimarelli ◽  
Jeremy Luban

ABSTRACT Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) gag-encoded proteins play key functions at almost all stages of the viral life cycle. Since these functions may require association with cellular factors, the HIV-1 matrix protein (MA) was used as bait in a yeast two-hybrid screen to identify MA-interacting proteins. MA was found to interact with elongation factor 1-alpha (EF1α), an essential component of the translation machinery that delivers aminoacyl-tRNA to ribosomes. EF1α was then shown to bind the entire HIV-1 Gag polyprotein. This interaction is mediated not only by MA, but also by the nucleocapsid domain, which provides a second, independent EF1α-binding site on the Gag polyprotein. EF1α is incorporated within HIV-1 virion membranes, where it is cleaved by the viral protease and protected from digestion by exogenously added subtilisin. The specificity of the interaction is demonstrated by the fact that EF1α does not bind to nonlentiviral MAs and does not associate with Moloney murine leukemia virus virions. The Gag-EF1α interaction appears to be mediated by RNA, in that basic residues in MA and NC are required for binding to EF1α, RNase disrupts the interaction, and a Gag mutant with undetectable EF1α-binding activity is impaired in its ability to associate with tRNA in cells. Finally, the interaction between MA and EF1α impairs translation in vitro, a result consistent with a previously proposed model in which inhibition of translation by the accumulation of Gag serves to release viral RNA from polysomes, permitting the RNA to be packaged into nascent virions.


2019 ◽  
Vol 94 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Iga Kucharska ◽  
Pengfei Ding ◽  
Kaneil K. Zadrozny ◽  
Robert A. Dick ◽  
Michael F. Summers ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The assembly of an orthoretrovirus such as HIV-1 requires the coordinated functioning of multiple biochemical activities of the viral Gag protein. These activities include membrane targeting, lattice formation, packaging of the RNA genome, and recruitment of cellular cofactors that modulate assembly. In most previous studies, these Gag activities have been investigated individually, which provided somewhat limited insight into how they functionally integrate during the assembly process. Here, we report the development of a biochemical reconstitution system that allowed us to investigate how Gag lattice formation, RNA binding, and the assembly cofactor inositol hexakisphosphate (IP6) synergize to generate immature virus particles in vitro. The results identify an important rate-limiting step in assembly and reveal new insights into how RNA and IP6 promote immature Gag lattice formation. The immature virus-like particles can be converted into mature capsid-like particles by the simple addition of viral protease, suggesting that it is possible in principle to fully biochemically reconstitute the sequential processes of HIV-1 assembly and maturation from purified components. IMPORTANCE Assembly and maturation are essential steps in the replication of orthoretroviruses such as HIV-1 and are proven therapeutic targets. These processes require the coordinated functioning of the viral Gag protein’s multiple biochemical activities. We describe here the development of an experimental system that allows an integrative analysis of how Gag’s multiple functionalities cooperate to generate a retrovirus particle. Our current studies help to illuminate how Gag synergizes the formation of the virus compartment with RNA binding and how these activities are modulated by the small molecule IP6. Further development and use of this system should lead to a more comprehensive understanding of the molecular mechanisms of HIV-1 assembly and maturation and may provide new insights for the development of antiretroviral drugs.


2007 ◽  
Vol 81 (20) ◽  
pp. 10914-10923 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guochun Jiang ◽  
Amy Espeseth ◽  
Daria J. Hazuda ◽  
David M. Margolis

ABSTRACT Histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors such as valproic acid (VPA) induce the expression of quiescent proviral human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) and may deplete proviral infection in vivo. To uncover novel molecular mechanisms that maintain HIV latency, we sought cellular mRNAs whose expression was diminished in resting CD4+ T cells of HIV-1-infected patients exposed to VPA. c-Myc was prominent among genes markedly downregulated upon exposure to VPA. c-Myc expression repressed HIV-1 expression in chronically infected cell lines. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assays revealed that c-Myc and HDAC1 are coordinately resident at the HIV-1 long terminal repeat (LTR) promoter and absent from the promoter after VPA treatment in concert with histone acetylation, RNA polymerase II recruitment, and LTR expression. Sequential ChIP assays demonstrated that c-Myc, Sp1, and HDAC1 coexist in the same DNA-protein complex at the HIV promoter. Short hairpin RNA inhibition of c-Myc reduces both c-Myc and HDAC1 occupancy, blocks c-Myc repression of Tat activation, and increases LTR expression. These results expand the understanding of mechanisms that recruit HDAC and maintain the latency of HIV-1, suggesting novel therapeutic approaches against latent proviral HIV infection.


2008 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 690-693 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emiliano P. Ricci ◽  
Ricardo Soto Rifo ◽  
Cécile H. Herbreteau ◽  
Didier Decimo ◽  
Théophile Ohlmann

The full-length genomic RNA of lentiviruses can be translated to produce proteins and incorporated as genomic RNA in the viral particle. Interestingly, both functions are driven by the genomic 5′-UTR (5′-untranslated region), which harbours structural RNA motifs for the replication cycle of the virus. Recent work has shown that this RNA architecture also functions as an IRES (internal ribosome entry site) in HIV-1 and -2, and in SIV (simian immunodeficiency virus). In addition, the IRES extends to the gag coding region for all these viruses and this leads to the synthesis of shorter isoforms of the Gag polyprotein from downstream initiation codons. In the present study, we have investigated how different members of the lentivirus family (namely HIV-1 and -2, and SIV) can initiate protein synthesis by distinct mechanisms. For this, we have used the competitive reticulocyte lysate that we have recently described. Our results show that HIV-1 is able to drive the synthesis of the Gag polyprotein both by a classical cap-dependent mechanism and an IRES, whereas HIV-2 and SIV appear to use exclusively an IRES mechanism.


2005 ◽  
Vol 79 (4) ◽  
pp. 2484-2492 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah M. Rue ◽  
Jason W. Roos ◽  
Patrick M. Tarwater ◽  
Janice E. Clements ◽  
Sheila A. Barber

ABSTRACT The lentiviral Gag polyprotein (Pr55Gag) is cleaved by the viral protease during the late stages of the virus life cycle. Proteolytic cleavage of Pr55Gag is necessary for virion maturation, a structural rearrangement required for infectivity that occurs in budded virions. In this study, we investigate the relationship between phosphorylation of capsid (CA) domains in Pr55Gag and its cleavage intermediates and their cleavage by the viral protease in simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV). First, we demonstrate that phosphorylated forms of Pr55Gag, several CA-containing cleavage intermediates of Pr55Gag, and the free CA protein are detectable in SIV virions but not in virus-producing cells, indicating that phosphorylation of these CA-containing Gag proteins may require an environment that is unique to the virion. Second, we show that the CA domain of Pr55Gag can be phosphorylated in budded virus and that this phosphorylation does not require the presence of an active viral protease. Further, we provide evidence that CA domains (i.e., incompletely cleaved CA) are phosphorylated to a greater extent than free (completely cleaved) CA and that CA-containing Gag proteins can be cleaved by the viral protease in SIV virions. Finally, we demonstrate that Pr55Gag and several of its intermediates, but not free CA, are actively phosphorylated in budded virus. Taken together, these data indicate that, in SIV virions, phosphorylation of CA domains in Pr55Gag and several of its cleavage intermediates likely precedes the cleavage of these domains by the viral protease.


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