scholarly journals Mutations in the Thumb Allow Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Reverse Transcriptase To Be Cleaved by Protease in Virions

2009 ◽  
Vol 83 (23) ◽  
pp. 12336-12344 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda L. Dunn ◽  
Mary Jane McWilliams ◽  
Kalyan Das ◽  
Eddy Arnold ◽  
Stephen H. Hughes

ABSTRACT Although human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) reverse transcriptase (RT) has been extensively studied, there are still significant questions about the effects of mutations on the maturation and stability of RT. We show here that a significant fraction (>80%) of the single point mutations we generated in the thumb subdomain of HIV-1 (RT) affect the stability of RT in virions. Fragments of the unstable mutant RTs can be detected in Western blots of virion proteins; however, the degree of degradation varies. The titers of the mutants whose virions contain degraded RTs are reduced. Some, but not all, of the unstable RT thumb subdomain mutants we analyzed have a temperature-sensitive phenotype. A preliminary survey of mutations in other subdomains of RT shows that some of these mutations also destabilize RT. The stability of the RT mutants is enhanced by the addition of a protease inhibitor, suggesting that the viral protease plays an important role in the degradation of the mutant RTs. These results confirm and extend earlier reports of mutations that affect the stability of RT in virions. The data suggest that the stability of a mutant RT in virions could be a major factor in determining the virus titer and, by extension, viral fitness, which could affect whether a mutation in RT is acceptable to the virus.

2004 ◽  
Vol 78 (20) ◽  
pp. 11130-11141 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andre J. Marozsan ◽  
Erika Fraundorf ◽  
Awet Abraha ◽  
Heather Baird ◽  
Dawn Moore ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Most studies on human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) replication kinetics or fitness must rely on a particular assay to initially standardize inocula from virus stocks. The most accurate measure of infectious HIV-1 titers involves a limiting dilution-infection assay and a calculation of the dose required for 50% infectivity of susceptible cells in tissue culture (TCID50). Surrogate assays are now commonly used to measure the amount of p24 capsid, the endogenous reverse transcriptase (RT) activity, or the amount of viral genomic RNA in virus particles. However, a direct comparison of these surrogate assays and actual infectious HIV-1 titers from TCID50 assays has not been performed with even the most conserved laboratory strains, let alone the highly divergent primary HIV-1 isolates of different subtypes. This study indicates that endogenous RT activity, not p24 content or viral RNA load, is the best surrogate measure of infectious HIV-1 titer in both cell-free supernatants and viruses purified on sucrose cushions. Sequence variation between HIV-1 subtypes did not appear to affect the function or activity of the RT enzyme in this endogenous assay but did affect the detection of p24 capsid by both enzyme immunoassays and Western blots. Clear groupings of non-syncytium-inducing (NSI), CCR5-tropic (R5), and SI/CXCR4-tropic (X4) HIV-1 isolates were observed when we compared the slopes derived from correlations of RT activity with infectious titers. Finally, the replication efficiency or fitness of both the NSI/R5 and SI/X4 HIV-1 isolates was not linked to the titers of the virus stocks.


2006 ◽  
Vol 50 (8) ◽  
pp. 2772-2781 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhijun Zhang ◽  
Michelle Walker ◽  
Wen Xu ◽  
Jae Hoon Shim ◽  
Jean-Luc Girardet ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Mutations in and around the catalytic site of the reverse transcriptase (RT) of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) are associated with resistance to nucleoside RT inhibitors (NRTIs), whereas changes in the hydrophobic pocket of the RT are attributed to nonnucleoside RT inhibitor (NNRTI) resistance. In this study, we report a novel series of nonnucleoside inhibitors of HIV-1, exemplified by VRX-329747 and VRX-413638, which inhibit both NNRTI- and NRTI-resistant HIV-1 isolates. Enzymatic studies indicated that these compounds are HIV-1 RT inhibitors. Surprisingly, however, following prolonged (6 months) tissue culture selection, this series of nonnucleoside inhibitors did not select NNRTI-resistant mutations in HIV-1 RT. Rather, four mutations (M41L, A62T/V, V118I, and M184V) known to cause resistance to NRTIs and two additional novel mutations (S68N and G112S) adjacent to the catalytic site of the enzyme were selected. Although the M184V mutation appears to be the initial mutation to establish resistance, this mutation alone confers only a two- to fourfold decrease in susceptibility to VRX-329747 and VRX-413638. At least two additional mutations must accumulate for significant resistance. Moreover, while VRX-329747-selected viruses are resistant to lamivudine and emtricitabine due to the M184V mutation, they remain susceptible to zidovudine, stavudine, dideoxyinosine, abacavir, tenofovir, and efavirenz. These results directly demonstrate that VRX-329747 and VRX-413638 are novel nonnucleoside inhibitors of HIV-1 RT with the potential to augment current therapies.


1999 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 259-263 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gadi Borkow ◽  
Dominique Arion ◽  
Mark A. Wainberg ◽  
Michael A. Parniak

ABSTRACT N-[4-Chloro-3-(3-methyl-2-butenyloxy)phenyl]-2-methyl-3-furancarbothioamide (UC781) is an exceptionally potent nonnucleoside inhibitor of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) reverse transcriptase. We found that a 1:1 molar combination of UC781 and 3′-azido-3′-deoxythymidine (AZT) showed high-level synergy in inhibiting the replication of AZT-resistant virus, implying that UC781 can restore antiviral activity to AZT against AZT-resistant HIV-1. Neither the nevirapine plus AZT nor the 2′,5′-bis-O-(t-butyldimethylsilyl)-3′-spiro-5"-(4"-amino-1",2"-oxathiole-2",2"-dioxide plus AZT combinations had this effect. Studies with purified HIV-1 reverse transcriptase (from a wild type and an AZT-resistant mutant) showed that UC781 was a potent inhibitor of the pyrophosphorolytic cleavage of nucleotides from the 3′ end of the DNA polymerization primer, a process that we have proposed to be critical for the phenotypic expression of AZT resistance. Combinations of UC781 plus AZT did not act in synergy to inhibit the replication of either wild-type virus or UC781-resistant HIV-1. Importantly, the time to the development of viral resistance to combinations of UC781 plus AZT is significantly delayed compared to the time to the development of resistance to either drug alone.


1998 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 412-421 ◽  
Author(s):  
C Chamorro ◽  
M-J Camarasa ◽  
M-J Pérez-Pérez ◽  
E de Clercq ◽  
J Balzarini ◽  
...  

Novel derivatives of the potent human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) reverse transcriptase (RT) inhibitor TSAO-T have been designed, synthesized and tested for their in vitro antiretro-viral activity against HIV. These TSAO-T derivatives have been designed as potential bidentate inhibitors of HIV-1 RT, which combine in their structure the functionality of a non-nucleoside RT inhibitor (TSAO-T) and a bivalent ion-chelating moiety (a β-diketone moiety) linked through an appropriate spacer to the N-3 of thymine of TSAO-T . Some of the new compounds have an anti-HIV-1 activity comparable to that of the parent compound TSAO-T, but display a markedly increased antiviral selectivity. There was a clear relationship between antiviral activity and the length of the spacer group that links the TSAO molecule with the chelating moiety. A shorter spacer invariably resulted in increased antiviral potency. None of the TSAO-T derivatives were endowed with anti-HIV-2 activity.


2002 ◽  
Vol 76 (7) ◽  
pp. 3248-3256 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul L. Boyer ◽  
Stefan G. Sarafianos ◽  
Edward Arnold ◽  
Stephen H. Hughes

ABSTRACT The M184V mutation in human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) reverse transcriptase (RT) causes resistance to lamivudine, but it also increases the sensitivity of the virus to zidovudine (3′-azido-3′-deoxythymidine; AZT). This sensitization to AZT is seen both in the presence and the absence of the mutations that confer resistance to AZT. AZT resistance is due to enhanced excision of AZT 5′-monophosphate (AZTMP) from the end of the primer by the RT of the resistant virus. Published data suggest that the excision reaction involves pyrophosphorolysis but that the likely in vivo pyrophosphate donor is not pyrophosphate but ATP. The mutations that lead to AZT resistance enhance ATP binding and, in so doing, enhance pyrophosphorolysis. The excision reaction is specific for AZT because HIV-1 RT, which can form a closed complex with a dideoxy-terminated primer and an incoming deoxynucleoside triphosphate (dNTP), does not form the closed complex with an AZTMP-terminated primer and an incoming dNTP. This means that an AZTMP-terminated primer has better access to the site where it can be excised. The M184V mutation alters the polymerase active site in a fashion that specifically interferes with ATP-mediated excision of AZTMP from the end of the primer strand. The M184V mutation does not affect the incorporation of AZT 5′-triphosphate (AZTTP), either in the presence or the absence of mutations that enhance AZTMP excision. However, in the presence of ATP, the M184V mutation does decrease the ability of HIV-1 RT to carry out AZTMP excision. Based on these results, and on the results of other excision experiments, we present a model to explain how the M184V mutation affects AZTMP excision.


2005 ◽  
Vol 49 (11) ◽  
pp. 4546-4554 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reynel Cancio ◽  
Romano Silvestri ◽  
Rino Ragno ◽  
Marino Artico ◽  
Gabriella De Martino ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Indolyl aryl sulfone (IAS) nonnucleoside inhibitors have been shown to potently inhibit the growth of wild-type and drug-resistant human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1), but their exact mechanism of action has not been elucidated yet. Here, we describe the mechanism of inhibition of HIV-1 reverse transcriptase (RT) by selected IAS derivatives. Our results showed that, depending on the substitutions introduced in the IAS common pharmacophore, these compounds can be made selective for different enzyme-substrate complexes. Moreover, we showed that the molecular basis for this selectivity was a different association rate of the drug to a particular enzymatic form along the reaction pathway. By comparing the activities of the different compounds against wild-type RT and the nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor-resistant mutant Lys103Asn, it was possible to hypothesize, on the basis of their mechanism of action, a rationale for the design of drugs which could overcome the steric barrier imposed by the Lys103Asn mutation.


2005 ◽  
Vol 49 (5) ◽  
pp. 1761-1769 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony J. Smith ◽  
Peter R. Meyer ◽  
Deshratn Asthana ◽  
Margarita R. Ashman ◽  
Walter A. Scott

ABSTRACT Treatment of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)-infected patients with 3′-azido-3′-deoxythymidine (AZT) selects for mutant forms of viral reverse transcriptase (RT) with increased ability to remove chain-terminating nucleotides from blocked DNA chains. We tested various cell extracts for the presence of endogenous acceptor substrates for this reaction. Cell extracts incubated with HIV-1 RT and [32P]ddAMP-terminated DNA primer/template gave rise to 32P-labeled adenosine 2′,3′-dideoxyadenosine 5′,5′′′−P1,P4-tetraphosphate (Ap4ddA), ddATP, Gp4ddA, and Ap3ddA, corresponding to the transfer of [32P]ddAMP to ATP, PPi, GTP, and ADP, respectively. Incubation with [32P]AZT monophosphate (AZTMP)-terminated primer/template gave rise to the analogous 32P-labeled AZT derivatives. Based on the rates of formation of the specific excision products, ATP and PPi levels were determined: ATP was present at 1.3 to 2.2 mM in H9 cells, macrophages, and unstimulated CD4+ or CD8+ T cells, while PPi was present at 7 to 15 μM. Under these conditions, the ATP-dependent reaction predominated, and excision by the AZT-resistant mutant RT was more efficient than wild type RT. Activated CD4+ or CD8+ T cells contained 1.4 to 2.7 mM ATP and 55 to 79 μM PPi. These cellular PPi concentrations are lower than previously reported; nonetheless, the PPi-dependent reaction predominated in extracts from activated T cells, and excision by mutant and wild-type RT occurred with similar efficiency. While PPi-dependent excision may contribute to AZT resistance in vivo, it is likely that selection of AZT-resistant mutants occurs primarily in an environment where the ATP-dependent reaction predominates.


2009 ◽  
Vol 53 (11) ◽  
pp. 4667-4672 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hongtao Xu ◽  
Yudong Quan ◽  
Bluma G. Brenner ◽  
Tamara Bar-Magen ◽  
Maureen Oliveira ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Etravirine (ETR) is a second-generation nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase (RT) inhibitor (NNRTI) active against common human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) drug-resistant strains. This study was designed to determine the extent to which each of the Y181C or G190A mutations in RT might confer resistance to ETR and other members of the NNRTI family of drugs. Recombinant HIV-1 RT enzymes containing either the Y181C or the G190A mutation, or both mutations in tandem, were purified. Both RNA- and DNA-dependent DNA polymerase assays were performed in order to determine the extent to which each of these mutations might confer resistance in cell-free biochemical assays against each of ETR, efavirenz, and nevirapine. Both the biochemical and the cell-based phenotypic assays confirmed the susceptibility of G190A-containing enzymes and viruses to ETR. The results of this study indicate that the G190A mutation is not associated with resistance to ETR.


2000 ◽  
Vol 74 (5) ◽  
pp. 2142-2150 ◽  
Author(s):  
Béatrice Labrosse ◽  
Carole Treboute ◽  
Marc Alizon

ABSTRACT The triterpene RPR103611 is an efficient inhibitor of membrane fusion mediated by the envelope proteins (Env, gp120-gp41) of CXCR4-dependent (X4) human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) strains, such as HIV-1LAI (LAI). Other X4 strains, such as HIV-1NDK (NDK), and CCR5-dependent (R5) HIV-1 strains, such as HIV-1ADA (ADA), were totally resistant to RPR103611. Analysis of chimeric LAI-NDK Env proteins identified a fragment of the NDK gp41 ectodomain determining drug resistance. A single difference at position 91, leucine in LAI and histidine in NDK, apparently accounted for their sensitivity or resistance to RPR103611. We had previously identified a mutation of isoleucine 84 to serine in a drug escape LAI variant. Both I84 and L91 are located in the “loop region” of gp41 separating the proximal and distal helix domains. Nonpolar residues in this region therefore appear to be important for the antiviral activity of RPR103611 and are possibly part of its target. However, another mechanism had to be envisaged to explain the drug resistance of ADA, since its gp41 loop region was almost identical to that of LAI. Fusion mediated by chimeric Env consisting of LAI gp120 and ADA gp41, or the reciprocal construct, was fully blocked by RPR103611. The gp120-gp41 complex of R5 strains is stable, relative to that of X4 strains, and this stability could play a role in their drug resistance. Indeed, when the postbinding steps of ADA infection were performed under mildly acidic conditions (pH 6.5 or 6.0), a treatment expected to favor dissociation of gp120, we achieved almost complete neutralization by RPR103611. The drug resistance of NDK was partially overcome by preincubating virus with soluble CD4, a gp120 ligand inducing conformational changes in the Env complex. The antiviral efficacy of RPR103611 therefore depends on the sequence of the gp41 loop and the stability of the gp120-gp41 complex, which could limit the accessibility of this target.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document