scholarly journals Distinct Contributions of Different Domains within the HIV-1 Gag Polyprotein to Specific and Nonspecific Interactions with RNA

Viruses ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 394 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomas Kroupa ◽  
Siddhartha A. K. Datta ◽  
Alan Rein
Keyword(s):  
Salt Concentration ◽  
Electrostatic Interactions ◽  
Rna Binding ◽  
High Specificity ◽  
Viral Rna ◽  
Gag Protein ◽  
Gag Polyprotein ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Hiv 1

Viral genomic RNA is packaged into virions with high specificity and selectivity. However, in vitro the Gag specificity towards viral RNA is obscured when measured in buffers containing physiological salt. Interestingly, when the binding is challenged by increased salt concentration, the addition of competing RNAs, or introducing mutations to Gag protein, the specificity towards viral RNA becomes detectable. The objective of this work was to examine the contributions of the individual HIV-1 Gag polyprotein domains to nonspecific and specific RNA binding and stability of the initial protein-RNA complexes. Using a panel of Gag proteins with mutations disabling different Gag-Gag or Gag-RNA interfaces, we investigated the distinct contributions of individual domains which distinguish the binding to viral and nonviral RNA by measuring the binding of the proteins to RNAs. We measured the binding affinity in near-physiological salt concentration, and then challenged the binding by increasing the ionic strength to suppress the electrostatic interactions and reveal the contribution of specific Gag–RNA and Gag–Gag interactions. Surprisingly, we observed that Gag dimerization and the highly basic region in the matrix domain contribute significantly to the specificity of viral RNA binding.

scholarly journals Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Vif Protein Is an Integral Component of an mRNP Complex of Viral RNA and Could Be Involved in the Viral RNA Folding and Packaging Process

2000 ◽  
Vol 74 (18) ◽  
pp. 8252-8261 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hui Zhang ◽  
Roger J. Pomerantz ◽  
Geethanjali Dornadula ◽  
Yong Sun
Keyword(s):  
Human Immunodeficiency Virus ◽  
Rna Binding ◽  
Viral Rna ◽  
Immunodeficiency Virus ◽  
Mrnp Complex ◽  
Rna Interaction ◽  
Vif Protein ◽  
Hiv 1

ABSTRACT Virion infectivity factor (Vif) is a protein encoded by human immunodeficiency virus types 1 and 2 (HIV-1 and -2) and simian immunodeficiency virus, plus other lentiviruses, and is essential for viral replication either in vivo or in culture for nonpermissive cells such as peripheral blood lymphoid cells, macrophages, and H9 T cells. Defects in the vif gene affect virion morphology and reverse transcription but not the expression of viral components. It has been shown that Vif colocalizes with Gag in cells and Vif binds to the NCp7 domain of Gag in vitro. However, it seems that Vif is not specifically packaged into virions. The molecular mechanism(s) for Vif remains unknown. In this report, we demonstrate that HIV-1 Vif is an RNA-binding protein and specifically binds to HIV-1 genomic RNA in vitro. Further, Vif binds to HIV-1 RNA in the cytoplasm of virus-producing cells to form a 40S mRNP complex. Coimmunoprecipitation and in vivo UV cross-linking assays indicated that Vif directly interact with HIV-1 RNA in the virus-producing cells. Vif-RNA binding could be displaced by Gag-RNA binding, suggesting that Vif protein in the mRNP complex may mediate viral RNA interaction with HIV-1 Gag precursors. Furthermore, we have demonstrated that these Vif mutants that lose the RNA binding activity in vitro do not supportvif-deficient HIV-1 replication in H9 T cells, suggesting that the RNA binding capacity of Vif is important for its function. Further studies regarding Vif-RNA interaction in virus-producing cells will be important for studying the function of Vif in the HIV-1 life cycle.

scholarly journals Biochemical Reconstitution of HIV-1 Assembly and Maturation

2019 ◽  
Vol 94 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Iga Kucharska ◽  
Pengfei Ding ◽  
Kaneil K. Zadrozny ◽  
Robert A. Dick ◽  
Michael F. Summers ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Rna Binding ◽  
Experimental System ◽  
Antiretroviral Drugs ◽  
Gag Protein ◽  
Rate Limiting Step ◽  
Lattice Formation ◽  
Immature Virus ◽  
Hiv 1

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.

scholarly journals Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Gag Polyprotein Multimerization Requires the Nucleocapsid Domain and RNA and Is Promoted by the Capsid-Dimer Interface and the Basic Region of Matrix Protein

1999 ◽  
Vol 73 (10) ◽  
pp. 8527-8540 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark T. Burniston ◽  
Andrea Cimarelli ◽  
John Colgan ◽  
Sean P. Curtis ◽  
Jeremy Luban
Keyword(s):  
Protein Interactions ◽  
Rna Binding ◽  
Protein Protein Interactions ◽  
Virion Assembly ◽  
Dimer Interface ◽  
Gag Polyprotein ◽  
Immunodeficiency Virus ◽  
Hiv 1

ABSTRACT The human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) Gag polyprotein directs the formation of virions from productively infected cells. Manygag mutations disrupt virion assembly, but little is known about the biochemical effects of many of these mutations. Protein-protein interactions among Gag monomers are believed to be necessary for virion assembly, and data suggest that RNA may modify protein-protein interactions or even serve as a bridge linking Gag polyprotein monomers. To evaluate the primary sequence requirements for HIV-1 Gag homomeric interactions, a panel of HIV-1 Gag deletion mutants was expressed in bacteria and evaluated for the ability to associate with full-length Gag in vitro. The nucleocapsid protein, the major RNA-binding domain of Gag, exhibited activity comparable to that of the complete polyprotein. In the absence of the nucleocapsid protein, relatively weak activity was observed that was dependent upon both the capsid-dimer interface and basic residues within the matrix domain. The relevance of the in vitro findings was confirmed with an assay in which nonmyristylated mutant Gags were assessed for the ability to be incorporated into virions produced by wild-type Gag expressed intrans. Evidence of the importance of RNA for Gag-Gag interaction was provided by the demonstration that RNase impairs the Gag-Gag interaction and that HIV-1 Gag interacts efficiently with Gags encoded by distantly related retroviruses and with structurally unrelated RNA-binding proteins. These results are consistent with models in which Gag multimerization involves indirect contacts via an RNA bridge as well as direct protein-protein interactions.

scholarly journals Dissection of specific binding of HIV-1 Gag to the 'packaging signal' in viral RNA

eLife ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mauricio Comas-Garcia ◽  
Siddhartha AK Datta ◽  
Laura Baker ◽  
Rajat Varma ◽  
Prabhakar R Gudla ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ionic Strength ◽  
Electrostatic Interactions ◽  
Specific Binding ◽  
High Specificity ◽  
Correlation Spectroscopy ◽  
Packaging Signal ◽  
Gag Protein ◽  
Virion Assembly ◽  
Cis Acting ◽  
Hiv 1

Selective packaging of HIV-1 genomic RNA (gRNA) requires the presence of a cis-acting RNA element called the ‘packaging signal’ (Ψ). However, the mechanism by which Ψ promotes selective packaging of the gRNA is not well understood. We used fluorescence correlation spectroscopy and quenching data to monitor the binding of recombinant HIV-1 Gag protein to Cy5-tagged 190-base RNAs. At physiological ionic strength, Gag binds with very similar, nanomolar affinities to both Ψ-containing and control RNAs. We challenged these interactions by adding excess competing tRNA; introducing mutations in Gag; or raising the ionic strength. These modifications all revealed high specificity for Ψ. This specificity is evidently obscured in physiological salt by non-specific, predominantly electrostatic interactions. This nonspecific activity was attenuated by mutations in the MA, CA, and NC domains, including CA mutations disrupting Gag-Gag interaction. We propose that gRNA is selectively packaged because binding to Ψ nucleates virion assembly with particular efficiency.

scholarly journals Extended Interactions between HIV-1 Viral RNA and tRNALys3 Are Important to Maintain Viral RNA Integrity

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 58
Author(s):  
Thomas Gremminger ◽  
Zhenwei Song ◽  
Juan Ji ◽  
Avery Foster ◽  
Kexin Weng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Reverse Transcription ◽  
Potential Interaction ◽  
Viral Rna ◽  
Primer Binding Site ◽  
Rna Integrity ◽  
Immunodeficiency Virus ◽  
Infected Cells ◽  
Extended Interaction ◽  
Hiv 1

The reverse transcription of the human immunodeficiency virus 1 (HIV-1) initiates upon annealing of the 3′-18-nt of tRNALys3 onto the primer binding site (PBS) in viral RNA (vRNA). Additional intermolecular interactions between tRNALys3 and vRNA have been reported, but their functions remain unclear. Here, we show that abolishing one potential interaction, the A-rich loop: tRNALys3 anticodon interaction in the HIV-1 MAL strain, led to a decrease in viral infectivity and reduced the synthesis of reverse transcription products in newly infected cells. In vitro biophysical and functional experiments revealed that disruption of the extended interaction resulted in an increased affinity for reverse transcriptase (RT) and enhanced primer extension efficiency. In the absence of deoxyribose nucleoside triphosphates (dNTPs), vRNA was degraded by the RNaseH activity of RT, and the degradation rate was slower in the complex with the extended interaction. Consistently, the loss of vRNA integrity was detected in virions containing A-rich loop mutations. Similar results were observed in the HIV-1 NL4.3 strain, and we show that the nucleocapsid (NC) protein is necessary to promote the extended vRNA: tRNALys3 interactions in vitro. In summary, our data revealed that the additional intermolecular interaction between tRNALys3 and vRNA is likely a conserved mechanism among various HIV-1 strains and protects the vRNA from RNaseH degradation in mature virions.

scholarly journals Phenotypic Susceptibility to Bevirimat in Isolates from HIV-1-Infected Patients without Prior Exposure to Bevirimat

2010 ◽  
Vol 54 (6) ◽  
pp. 2345-2353 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolas A. Margot ◽  
Craig S. Gibbs ◽  
Michael D. Miller
Keyword(s):  
Recombinant Viruses ◽  
Gag Polyprotein ◽  
New Class ◽  
Major Mutation ◽  
Hiv Drugs ◽  
The Impact ◽  
First Time ◽  
Hiv 1

ABSTRACT Bevirimat (BVM) is the first of a new class of anti-HIV drugs with a novel mode of action known as maturation inhibitors. BVM inhibits the last cleavage of the Gag polyprotein by HIV-1 protease, leading to the accumulation of the p25 capsid-small peptide 1 (SP1) intermediate and resulting in noninfectious HIV-1 virions. Early clinical studies of BVM showed that over 50% of the patients treated with BVM did not respond to treatment. We investigated the impact of prior antiretroviral (ARV) treatment and/or natural genetic diversity on BVM susceptibility by conducting in vitro phenotypic analyses of viruses made from patient samples. We generated 31 recombinant viruses containing the entire gag and protease genes from 31 plasma samples from HIV-1-infected patients with (n = 21) or without (n = 10) prior ARV experience. We found that 58% of the patient isolates tested had a >10-fold reduced susceptibility to BVM, regardless of the patient's ARV experience or the level of isolate resistance to protease inhibitors. Analysis of mutants with site-directed mutations confirmed the role of the V370A SP1 polymorphism (SP1-V7A) in resistance to BVM. Furthermore, we demonstrated for the first time that a capsid polymorphism, V362I (CA protein-V230I), is also a major mutation conferring resistance to BVM. In contrast, none of the previously defined resistance-conferring mutations in Gag selected in vitro (H358Y, L363M, L363F, A364V, A366V, or A366T) were found to occur among the viruses that we analyzed. Our results should be helpful in the design of diagnostics for prediction of the potential benefit of BVM treatment in HIV-1-infected patients.

scholarly journals Selective and Nonselective Packaging of Cellular RNAs in Retrovirus Particles

2007 ◽  
Vol 81 (12) ◽  
pp. 6623-6631 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel J. Rulli ◽  
Catherine S. Hibbert ◽  
Jane Mirro ◽  
Thoru Pederson ◽  
Shyam Biswal ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Leukemia Virus ◽  
Signal Recognition Particle ◽  
Viral Rna ◽  
Genomic Rna ◽  
Gag Protein ◽  
Mrna Species ◽  
Reverse Transcription Pcr ◽  
Cellular Mrnas ◽  
A Minor ◽  
Hiv 1

ABSTRACT Assembly of retrovirus particles normally entails the selective encapsidation of viral genomic RNA. However, in the absence of packageable viral RNA, assembly is still efficient, and the released virus-like particles (termed “Ψ−” particles) still contain roughly normal amounts of RNA. We have proposed that cellular mRNAs replace the genome in Ψ− particles. We have now analyzed the mRNA content of Ψ− and Ψ+ murine leukemia virus (MLV) particles using both microarray analysis and real-time reverse transcription-PCR. The majority of mRNA species present in the virus-producing cells were also detected in Ψ− particles. Remarkably, nearly all of them were packaged nonselectively; that is, their representation in the particles was simply proportional to their representation in the cells. However, a small number of low-abundance mRNAs were greatly enriched in the particles. In fact, one mRNA species was enriched to the same degree as Ψ+ genomic RNA. Similar results were obtained with particles formed from the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) Gag protein, and the same mRNAs were enriched in MLV and HIV-1 particles. The levels of individual cellular mRNAs were ∼5- to 10-fold higher in Ψ− than in Ψ+ MLV particles, in agreement with the idea that they are replacing viral RNA in the former. In contrast, signal recognition particle RNA was present at the same level in Ψ− and Ψ+ particles; a minor fraction of this RNA was weakly associated with genomic RNA in Ψ+ MLV particles.

scholarly journals Phosphate Derivatives of 3-Carboxyacylbetulin: SynThesis, In Vitro Anti-HIV and Molecular Docking Study

Biomolecules ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 1148
Author(s):  
Krzysztof Marciniec ◽  
Elwira Chrobak ◽  
Aleksandra Dąbrowska ◽  
Ewa Bębenek ◽  
Monika Kadela-Tomanek ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Docking ◽  
Betulinic Acid ◽  
Strong Interactions ◽  
Molecular Docking Study ◽  
Gag Protein ◽  
Terminal Domain ◽  
Derivatives Of ◽  
Anti Hiv ◽  
Hiv 1

Lupane-type pentacyclic triterpenes such as betulin and betulinic acid play an important role in the search for new therapies that would be effective in controlling viral infections. The aim of this study was the synthesis and evaluation of in vitro anti-HIV-1 activity for phosphate derivatives of 3-carboxyacylbetulin 3–5 as well as an in silico study of new compounds as potential ligands of the C-terminal domain of the HIV-1 capsid–spacer peptide 1 (CA-CTD-SP1) as a molecular target of HIV-1 maturation inhibitors. In vitro studies showed that 28-diethoxyphosphoryl-3-O-(3′,3′-dimethylsuccinyl)betulin (compound 3), the phosphate analog of bevirimat (betulinic acid derivative, HIV-1 maturation inhibitor), has IC50 (half maximal inhibitory concentration) equal to 0.02 μM. Compound 3 inhibits viral replication at a level comparable to bevirimat and is also more selective (selectivity indices = 1250 and 967, respectively). Molecular docking was used to examine the probable interaction between the phosphate derivatives of 3-carboxyacylbetulin and C-terminal domain (CTD) of the HIV-1 capsid (CA)–spacer peptide 1 (SP1) fragment of Gag protein, designated as CTD-SP1. Compared with interactions between bevirimat (BVM) and the protein, an increased number of strong interactions between ligand 3 and the protein, generated by the phosphate group, were observed. These compounds might have the potential to also inhibit SARS-CoV2 proteins, in as far as the intrinsically imprecise docking scores suggest.

scholarly journals Long-Range RNA-RNA Interactions Circularize the Dengue Virus Genome

2005 ◽  
Vol 79 (11) ◽  
pp. 6631-6643 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diego E. Alvarez ◽  
María F. Lodeiro ◽  
Silvio J. Ludueña ◽  
Lía I. Pietrasanta ◽  
Andrea V. Gamarnik
Keyword(s):  
Dengue Virus ◽  
Rna Binding ◽  
Rna Replication ◽  
Virus Genome ◽  
Viral Rna ◽  
Physical Interaction ◽  
Virus Rna ◽  
Rna Elements ◽  
Rna Interaction

ABSTRACT Secondary and tertiary RNA structures present in viral RNA genomes play essential regulatory roles during translation, RNA replication, and assembly of new viral particles. In the case of flaviviruses, RNA-RNA interactions between the 5′ and 3′ ends of the genome have been proposed to be required for RNA replication. We found that two RNA elements present at the ends of the dengue virus genome interact in vitro with high affinity. Visualization of individual molecules by atomic force microscopy reveled that physical interaction between these RNA elements results in cyclization of the viral RNA. Using RNA binding assays, we found that the putative cyclization sequences, known as 5′ and 3′ CS, present in all mosquito-borne flaviviruses, were necessary but not sufficient for RNA-RNA interaction. Additional sequences present at the 5′ and 3′ untranslated regions of the viral RNA were also required for RNA-RNA complex formation. We named these sequences 5′ and 3′ UAR (upstream AUG region). In order to investigate the functional role of 5′-3′ UAR complementarity, these sequences were mutated either separately, to destroy base pairing, or simultaneously, to restore complementarity in the context of full-length dengue virus RNA. Nonviable viruses were recovered after transfection of dengue virus RNA carrying mutations either at the 5′ or 3′ UAR, while the RNA containing the compensatory mutations was able to replicate. Since sequence complementarity between the ends of the genome is required for dengue virus viability, we propose that cyclization of the RNA is a required conformation for viral replication.

scholarly journals Effect of Dimerizing Domains and Basic Residues on In Vitro and In Vivo Assembly of Mason-Pfizer Monkey Virus and Human Immunodeficiency Virus

2009 ◽  
Vol 84 (4) ◽  
pp. 1977-1988 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karolína Bohmová ◽  
Romana Hadravová ◽  
Jitka Štokrová ◽  
Roman Tůma ◽  
Tomáš Ruml ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nucleocapsid Protein ◽  
Gag Polyprotein ◽  
Complex Process ◽  
Immunodeficiency Virus ◽  
Interaction Domains ◽  
Immature Virus ◽  
Hiv 1 ◽  
Positively Charged

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.

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