scholarly journals Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 (HIV-1) Vpr Enhances Expression from Unintegrated HIV-1 DNA

2003 ◽  
Vol 77 (7) ◽  
pp. 3962-3972 ◽  
Author(s):  
Betty Poon ◽  
Irvin S. Y. Chen

ABSTRACT Retroviral DNA synthesized prior to integration, termed unintegrated viral DNA, is classically believed to be transcriptionally inert and to serve only as a precursor to the transcriptionally active integrated proviral DNA form. However, it has recently been found to be expressed under some circumstances during human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) replication and may play a significant role in HIV-1 pathogenesis. HIV-1 Vpr is a virion-associated accessory protein that is critical for HIV-1 replication in nondividing cells and induces cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. We find that Vpr, either expressed de novo or released from virions following viral entry, is essential for unintegrated viral DNA expression. HIV-1 mutants defective for integration in either the integrase catalytic domain or the cis-acting att sites can express unintegrated viral DNA at levels similar to that of wild-type HIV-1, but only in the presence of Vpr. In the absence of Vpr, the expression of unintegrated viral DNA decreases 10- to 20-fold. Vpr does not affect the efficiency of integration from integrase-defective HIV-1. Vpr-mediated enhancement of expression from integrase-defective HIV-1 requires that the viral DNA be generated in cells through infection and is mediated via a template that declines over time. Vpr activation of expression does not require exclusive nuclear localization of Vpr nor does it correlate with Vpr-mediated cell cycle arrest. These results attribute a new function to HIV-1 Vpr and implicate Vpr as a critical component in expression from unintegrated HIV-1 DNA.

2000 ◽  
Vol 74 (14) ◽  
pp. 6520-6527 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yi Zhou ◽  
Lee Ratner

ABSTRACT Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) Vpr regulates nuclear transport of the viral preintegration complex, G2 cell cycle arrest, and transcriptional transactivation. We asked whether phosphorylation could affect Vpr activity. Vpr was found to be phosphorylated on serine residues in transiently transfected and infected cells. Residues 79, 94, and 96 were all found to be phosphorylated, as assessed by alanine mutations. Mutation of Ser-79 to Ala abrogated effects of Vpr on cell cycle progression, whereas mutation of Ser-94 and Ser-96 had no effect. Simultaneous mutation of all three Vpr serine residues attenuated HIV-1 replication in macrophages, whereas single and double Ser mutations had no effect.


2007 ◽  
Vol 81 (19) ◽  
pp. 10822-10830 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lindi Tan ◽  
Elana Ehrlich ◽  
Xiao-Fang Yu

ABSTRACT Vpr-mediated induction of G2 cell cycle arrest has been postulated to be important for human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) replication, but the precise role of Vpr in this cell cycle arrest is unclear. In the present study, we have shown that HIV-1 Vpr interacts with damaged DNA binding protein 1 (DDB1) but not its partner DDB2. The interaction of Vpr with DDB1 was inhibited when DCAF1 (VprBP) expression was reduced by short interfering RNA (siRNA) treatment. The Vpr mutant (Q65R) that was defective for DCAF1 interaction also had a defect in DDB1 binding. However, Vpr binding to DDB1 was not sufficient to induce G2 arrest. A reduction in DDB1 or DDB2 expression in the absence of Vpr also did not induce G2 arrest. On the other hand, Vpr-induced G2 arrest was impaired when the intracellular level of DDB1 or Cullin 4A was reduced by siRNA treatment. Furthermore, Vpr-induced G2 arrest was largely abolished by a proteasome inhibitor. These data suggest that Vpr assembles with DDB1 through interaction with DCAF1 to form an E3 ubiquitin ligase that targets cellular substrates for proteasome-mediated degradation and G2 arrest.


2006 ◽  
Vol 26 (21) ◽  
pp. 8149-8158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yasuhiko Terada ◽  
Yuko Yasuda

ABSTRACT Vpr, the viral protein R of human immunodeficiency virus type 1, induces G2 cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in mammalian cells via ATR (for “ataxia-telangiectasia-mediated and Rad3-related”) checkpoint activation. The expression of Vpr induces the formation of the γ-histone 2A variant X (H2AX) and breast cancer susceptibility protein 1 (BRCA1) nuclear foci, and a C-terminal domain is required for Vpr-induced ATR activation and its nuclear localization. However, the cellular target of Vpr, as well as the mechanism of G2 checkpoint activation, was unknown. Here we report that Vpr induces checkpoint activation and G2 arrest by binding to the CUS1 domain of SAP145 and interfering with the functions of the SAP145 and SAP49 proteins, two subunits of the multimeric splicing factor 3b (SF3b). Vpr interacts with and colocalizes with SAP145 through its C-terminal domain in a speckled distribution. The depletion of either SAP145 or SAP49 leads to checkpoint-mediated G2 cell cycle arrest through the induction of nuclear foci containing γ-H2AX and BRCA1. In addition, the expression of Vpr excludes SAP49 from the nuclear speckles and inhibits the formation of the SAP145-SAP49 complex. To conclude, these results point out the unexpected roles of the SAP145-SAP49 splicing factors in cell cycle progression and suggest that cellular expression of Vpr induces checkpoint activation and G2 arrest by interfering with the function of SAP145-SAP49 complex in host cells.


2011 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 219 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keiko Sakai ◽  
R Anthony Barnitz ◽  
Benjamin Chaigne-Delalande ◽  
Nicolas Bidère ◽  
Michael J Lenardo

2000 ◽  
Vol 74 (17) ◽  
pp. 8159-8165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael P. Sherman ◽  
Carlos M. C. de Noronha ◽  
David Pearce ◽  
Warner C. Greene

ABSTRACT Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) Vpr participates in nuclear targeting of the viral preintegration complex in nondividing cells and induces G2 cell cycle arrest in proliferating cells, which creates an intracellular milieu favorable for viral replication. Vpr also activates the transcription of several promoters and enhancers by a poorly understood mechanism. Vpr enhances glucocorticoid receptor (GR) signaling and may mediate the effects of steroids on HIV replication. More specifically, recombinant Vpr can potentiate virion production from U937 cells, downregulate NF-κB induction, and enhance programmed cell death, all effects also mediated by glucocorticoids. Vpr has been proposed to act as a GR coactivator, although other studies suggest that these enhancing effects are merely a consequence of G2 cell cycle arrest. We now demonstrate that Vpr functions as a GR coactivator and that this activity is independent of cell cycle arrest. In addition, we show that the Vpr-induced coactivation requires an intact glucocorticoid response element, that it is dependent on the presence of hormone and the corresponding receptor, and that it is mediated by the two highly conserved leucine-rich domains within Vpr that resemble the GR coactivator signature motif.


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