scholarly journals Analysis of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Gag Dimerization-Induced Assembly

2005 ◽  
Vol 79 (23) ◽  
pp. 14498-14506 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ayna Alfadhli ◽  
Tenzin Choesang Dhenub ◽  
Amelia Still ◽  
Eric Barklis

ABSTRACT The nucleocapsid (NC) domains of retrovirus precursor Gag (PrGag) proteins play an essential role in virus assembly. Evidence suggests that NC binding to viral RNA promotes dimerization of PrGag capsid (CA) domains, which triggers assembly of CA N-terminal domains (NTDs) into hexamer rings that are interconnected by CA C-terminal domains. To examine the influence of dimerization on human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) Gag protein assembly in vitro, we analyzed the assembly properties of Gag proteins in which NC domains were replaced with cysteine residues that could be linked via chemical treatment. In accordance with the model that Gag protein pairing triggers assembly, we found that cysteine cross-linking or oxidation reagents induced the assembly of virus-like particles. However, efficient assembly also was observed to be temperature dependent or required the tethering of NTDs. Our results suggest a multistep pathway for HIV-1 Gag protein assembly. In the first step, Gag protein pairing through NC-RNA interactions or C-terminal cysteine linkage fosters dimerization. Next, a conformational change converts assembly-restricted dimers or small oligomers into assembly-competent ones. At the final stage, final particle assembly occurs, possibly through a set of larger intermediates.

2008 ◽  
Vol 82 (20) ◽  
pp. 9937-9950 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathaniel W. Martinez ◽  
Xiaoxiao Xue ◽  
Reem G. Berro ◽  
Geri Kreitzer ◽  
Marilyn D. Resh

ABSTRACT Retroviral Gag proteins are synthesized as soluble, myristoylated precursors that traffic to the plasma membrane and promote viral particle production. The intracellular transport of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) Gag to the plasma membrane remains poorly understood, and cellular motor proteins responsible for Gag movement are not known. Here we show that disrupting the function of KIF4, a kinesin family member, slowed temporal progression of Gag through its trafficking intermediates and inhibited virus-like particle production. Knockdown of KIF4 also led to increased Gag degradation, resulting in reduced intracellular Gag protein levels; this phenotype was rescued by reintroduction of KIF4. When KIF4 function was blocked, Gag transiently accumulated in discrete, perinuclear, nonendocytic clusters that colocalized with endogenous KIF4, with Ubc9, an E2 SUMO-1 conjugating enzyme, and with SUMO. These studies identify a novel transit station through which Gag traffics en route to particle assembly and highlight the importance of KIF4 in regulating HIV-1 Gag trafficking and stability.


2000 ◽  
Vol 74 (13) ◽  
pp. 5845-5855 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc Tritel ◽  
Marilyn D. Resh

ABSTRACT The assembly and budding of lentiviruses, such as human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1), are mediated by the Gag protein precursor, but the molecular details of these processes remain poorly defined. In this study, we have combined pulse-chase techniques with density gradient centrifugation to identify, isolate, and characterize sequential kinetic intermediates in the lentivirus assembly process. We show that newly synthesized HIV-1 Gag rapidly forms cytoplasmic protein complexes that are resistant to detergent treatment, sensitive to protease digestion, and degraded intracellularly. A subpopulation of newly synthesized Gag binds membranes within 5 to 10 min and over several hours assembles into membrane-bound complexes of increasing size and/or density that can be resolved on Optiprep density gradients. These complexes likely represent assembly intermediates because they are not observed with assembly-defective Gag mutants and can be chased into extracellular viruslike particles. At steady state, nearly all of the Gag is present as membrane-bound complexes in various stages of assembly. The identification of sequential assembly intermediates provides the first demonstration that HIV-1 particle assembly proceeds via an ordered process. Assembly intermediates should serve as attractive targets for the design of antiviral agents that interfere with the process of particle production.


1998 ◽  
Vol 72 (3) ◽  
pp. 1782-1789 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yaqiang Zhang ◽  
Haoyu Qian ◽  
Zachary Love ◽  
Eric Barklis

ABSTRACT Previous studies have shown that in addition to its function in specific RNA encapsidation, the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) nucleocapsid (NC) is required for efficient virus particle assembly. However, the mechanism by which NC facilitates the assembly process is not clearly established. Formally, NC could act by constraining the Pr55 gag polyprotein into an assembly-competent conformation or by masking residues which block the assembly process. Alternatively, the capacity of NC to bind RNA or make interprotein contacts might affect particle assembly. To examine its role in the assembly process, we replaced the NC domain in Pr55 gag with polypeptide domains of known function, and the chimeric proteins were analyzed for their abilities to direct the release of virus-like particles. Our results indicate that NC does not mask inhibitory domains and does not act passively, by simply providing a stable folded monomeric structure. However, replacement of NC by polypeptides which form interprotein contacts permitted efficient virus particle assembly and release, even when RNA was not detected in the particles. These results suggest that formation of interprotein contacts by NC is essential to the normal HIV-1 assembly process.


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.


2004 ◽  
Vol 78 (2) ◽  
pp. 1026-1031 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tsutomu Murakami ◽  
Sherimay Ablan ◽  
Eric O. Freed ◽  
Yuetsu Tanaka

ABSTRACT We and others have presented evidence for a direct interaction between the matrix (MA) domain of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) Gag protein and the cytoplasmic tail of the transmembrane envelope (Env) glycoprotein gp41. In addition, it has been postulated that the MA domain of Gag undergoes a conformational change following Gag processing, and the cytoplasmic tail of gp41 has been shown to modulate Env-mediated membrane fusion activity. Together, these results raise the possibility that the interaction between the gp41 cytoplasmic tail and MA is regulated by protease (PR)-mediated Gag processing, perhaps affecting Env function. To examine whether Gag processing affects Env-mediated fusion, we compared the ability of wild-type (WT) HIV-1 Env and a mutant lacking the gp41 cytoplasmic tail to induce fusion in the context of an active (PR+) or inactive (PR−) viral PR. We observed that PR− virions bearing WT Env displayed defects in cell-cell fusion. Impaired fusion did not appear to be due to differences in the levels of virion-associated Env, in CD4-dependent binding to target cells, or in the formation of the CD4-induced gp41 six-helix bundle. Interestingly, truncation of the gp41 cytoplasmic tail reversed the fusion defect. These results suggest that interactions between unprocessed Gag and the gp41 cytoplasmic tail suppress fusion.


2005 ◽  
Vol 79 (14) ◽  
pp. 9134-9144 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eva Gottwein ◽  
Hans-Georg Kräusslich

ABSTRACT Ubiquitin is important for the release of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) and several other retroviruses, but the functional significance of Gag ubiquitination is unknown. To address this problem, we decided to analyze Gag ubiquitination in detail. A low percentage of the HIV-1 p6 protein has previously been shown to be ubiquitinated, and published mutagenesis data suggested that Gag ubiquitination is largely lost upon mutation of the two lysine residues in p6. In this study, we show that Gag proteins lacking the p6 domain or the two lysine residues within p6 are ubiquitinated at levels comparable to those of the wild-type Gag protein. We detected monoubiquitinated forms of the matrix (MA), capsid (CA), and nucleocapsid (NC) proteins in mature virus preparations. Protease digestion of Gag polyproteins extracted from immature virions indicated that ubiquitinated MA, CA, and possibly NC are as abundant as ubiquitinated p6. The HIV-1 late-domain motifs PTAP and LRSLF were not required for Gag ubiquitination, and mutation of the PTAP motif even resulted in an increase in the amount of Gag-Ub conjugates detected. Finally, at steady state, ubiquitinated Gag proteins were not enriched in either membrane-associated or virus-derived Gag fractions. In summary, these results indicate that HIV-1 Gag can be monoubiquitinated in all domains and that ubiquitination of lysine residues outside p6 may thus contribute to viral release and/or infectivity.


1998 ◽  
Vol 72 (6) ◽  
pp. 4667-4677 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurence Garnier ◽  
Lee Ratner ◽  
Benjamin Rovinski ◽  
Shi-Xian Cao ◽  
John W. Wills

ABSTRACT The retroviral Gag protein plays the central role in the assembly process and can form membrane-enclosed, virus-like particles in the absence of any other viral products. These particles are similar to authentic virions in density and size. Three small domains of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) Gag protein have been previously identified as being important for budding. Regions that lie outside these domains can be deleted without any effect on particle release or density. However, the regions of Gag that control the size of HIV-1 particles are less well understood. In the case of Rous sarcoma virus (RSV), the size determinant maps to the CA (capsid) and adjacent spacer sequences within Gag, but systematic mapping of the HIV Gag protein has not been reported. To locate the size determinants of HIV-1, we analyzed a large collection of Gag mutants. To our surprise, all mutants with defects in the MA (matrix), CA, and the N-terminal part of NC (nucleocapsid) sequences produced dense particles of normal size, suggesting that oncoviruses (RSV) and lentiviruses (HIV-1) have different size-controlling elements. The most important region found to be critical for determining HIV-1 particle size is the p6 sequence. Particles lacking all or small parts of p6 were uniform in size distribution but very large as measured by rate zonal gradients. Further evidence for this novel function of p6 was obtained by placing this sequence at the C terminus of RSV CA mutants that produce heterogeneously sized particles. We found that the RSV-p6 chimeras produced normally sized particles. Thus, we present evidence that the entire p6 sequence plays a role in determining the size of a retroviral particle.


2004 ◽  
Vol 85 (10) ◽  
pp. 2903-2913 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samir Abdurahman ◽  
Stefan Höglund ◽  
Laura Goobar-Larsson ◽  
Anders Vahlne

The capsid protein (CA or p24) of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) plays a major role both early and late in the virus replication cycle. Many studies have suggested that the C-terminal domain of this protein is involved in dimerization and proper assembly of the viral core. Point mutations were introduced in two conserved sites of this region and their effects on viral protein expression, particle assembly and infectivity were studied. Eight different mutants (L205A+P207A, L205A, P207A, 223GPG225AAA, G223A, P224A, G225A and V221G) of the infectious clone pNL4-3 were constructed. Most substitutions had no substantial effect on HIV-1 protein synthesis, yet they impaired viral infectivity and particle production. The two mutants P207A and V221G also had a profound effect on Gag–Pol protein processing in HeLa–tat cells. However, these results were cell line-specific and Gag–Pol processing of P207A was not affected in 293T cells. In HeLa–tat cells, no virus particles were detected with the P207A mutation, whereas the other mutant virus particles were heterogeneous in size and morphology. None of the mutants showed normal, mature, conical core structures in HeLa–tat cells. These results indicate that the two conserved sequences in the C-terminal CA domain are essential for proper morphogenesis and infectivity of HIV-1 particles.


2009 ◽  
Vol 83 (20) ◽  
pp. 10448-10459 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tareq Jaber ◽  
Christopher R. Bohl ◽  
Gentry L. Lewis ◽  
Charles Wood ◽  
John T. West ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Ubc9 was identified as a cellular protein that interacts with the Gag protein of Mason-Pfizer monkey virus. We show here that Ubc9 also interacts with the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) Gag protein and that their interaction is important for virus replication. Gag was found to colocalize with Ubc9 predominantly at perinuclear puncta. While cells in which Ubc9 expression was suppressed with RNA interference produced normal numbers of virions, these particles were 8- to 10-fold less infectious than those produced in the presence of Ubc9. The nature of this defect was assayed for dependence on Ubc9 during viral assembly, trafficking, and Env incorporation. The Gag-mediated assembly of virus particles and protease-mediated processing of Gag and Gag-Pol were unchanged in the absence of Ubc9. However, the stability of the cell-associated Env glycoprotein was decreased and Env incorporation into released virions was altered. Interestingly, overexpression of the Ubc9 trans-dominant-negative mutant C93A, which is a defective E2-SUMO-1 conjugase, suggests that this activity may not be required for interaction with Gag, virion assembly, or infectivity. This finding demonstrates that Ubc9 plays an important role in the production of infectious HIV-1 virions.


2006 ◽  
Vol 80 (5) ◽  
pp. 2405-2417 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melody R. Davis ◽  
Jiyang Jiang ◽  
Jing Zhou ◽  
Eric O. Freed ◽  
Christopher Aiken

ABSTRACT The Gag protein of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) associates with the envelope protein complex during virus assembly. The available evidence indicates that this interaction involves recognition of the gp41 cytoplasmic tail (CT) by the matrix protein (MA) region of Pr55Gag. Here we show that substitution of Asp for Leu at position 49 (L49D) in MA results in a specific reduction in particle-associated gp120 without affecting the levels of gp41. Mutant virions were markedly reduced in single-cycle infectivity despite a relatively modest defect in fusion with target cells. Studies with HIV-1 particles containing decreased levels of envelope proteins suggested that the L49D mutation also inhibits a postentry step in infection. Truncation of the gp41 tail, or pseudotyping by vesicular stomatitis virus glycoprotein, restored both the fusion and infectivity of L49D mutant virions to wild-type levels. Truncation of gp41 also resulted in equivalent levels of gp120 on particles with and without the MA mutation and enhanced the replication of the L49D mutant virus in T cells. The impaired fusion and infectivity of L49D mutant particles were also complemented by a single point mutation in the gp41 CT that disrupted the tyrosine-containing endocytic motif. Our results suggest that an altered interaction between the MA domain of Gag and the gp41 cytoplasmic tail leads to dissociation of gp120 from gp41 during HIV-1 particle assembly, thus resulting in impaired fusion and infectivity.


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