scholarly journals RNA Binding Suppresses Tsg101 Recognition of Ub-Modified Gag and Facilitates Recruitment to the Plasma Membrane

Viruses ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 447 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan M. Watanabe ◽  
Madeleine Strickland ◽  
Nico Tjandra ◽  
Carol A. Carter

The ESCRT-I factor Tsg101 is essential for sorting endocytic cargo and is exploited by viral pathogens to facilitate egress from cells. Both the nucleocapsid (NC) domain and p6 domain in HIV-1 Gag contribute to recruitment of the protein. However, the role of NC is unclear when the P(S/T)AP motif in p6 is intact, as the motif recruits Tsg101 directly. The zinc fingers in NC bind RNA and membrane and are critical for budding. Tsg101 can substitute for the distal ZnF (ZnF2) and rescue budding of a mutant made defective by deletion of this element. Here, we report that the ubiquitin (Ub) E2 variant (UEV) domain in Tsg101 binds tRNA in vitro. We confirmed that Tsg101 can substitute for ZnF2 when provided at the viral assembly site as a chimeric Gag-Tsg101 protein (Gag-ΔZnF2-Tsg101) and rescue budding. The UEV was not required in this context; however, mutation of the RNA binding determinants in UEV prevented Tsg101 recruitment from the cell interior when Gag and Tsg101 were co-expressed. The same Tsg101 mutations increased recognition of Gag-Ub, suggesting that tRNA and Ub compete for binding sites. This study identifies a novel Tsg101 binding partner that may contribute to its function in recognition of Ub-modified cargo.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Filonova ◽  
Y. Lobanova ◽  
D Kaplun ◽  
S Zhenilo

AbstractTripartite motif protein 28 (TRIM28), a universal mediator of Krüppel-associated box domain zinc fingers (KRAB-ZNFs), is known to regulate DNA methylation of many repetitive elements and several imprinted loci. TRIM28 serves as a scaffold unit that is essential for the formation of stable repressor complexes. In the present study we found that TRIM28 is a binding partner for methyl-DNA binding protein Kaiso. Kaiso is a transcription factor that belongs to the BTB/POZ -zinc finger family. Recent data suggest that deficiency of Kaiso led to reduction of DNA methylation within the imprinting control region of H19/IGF2. Thus, we hypothesized that Kaiso and TRIM28 may cooperate to control methylated genes. We demonstrated that Kaiso interacts with TRIM28 via its two domains: BTB/POZ and three zinc finger domains. When bound to Kaiso’s zinc finger domains TRIM28 weakens their interactions with methylated DNA in vitro. Specific association of TRIM28 with BTB/POZ domain causes Kaiso hyperSUMOylation. Altogether our data describe a putative role of TRIM28 as a regulator of Kaiso activity.


Author(s):  
Zizhen Si ◽  
Lei Yu ◽  
Haoyu Jing ◽  
Lun Wu ◽  
Xidi Wang

Abstract Background Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNA) are reported to influence colorectal cancer (CRC) progression. Currently, the functions of the lncRNA ZNF561 antisense RNA 1 (ZNF561-AS1) in CRC are unknown. Methods ZNF561-AS1 and SRSF6 expression in CRC patient samples and CRC cell lines was evaluated through TCGA database analysis, western blot along with real-time PCR. SRSF6 expression in CRC cells was also examined upon ZNF561-AS1 depletion or overexpression. Interaction between miR-26a-3p, miR-128-5p, ZNF561-AS1, and SRSF6 was examined by dual luciferase reporter assay, as well as RNA binding protein immunoprecipitation (RIP) assay. Small interfering RNA (siRNA) mediated knockdown experiments were performed to assess the role of ZNF561-AS1 and SRSF6 in the proliferative actives and apoptosis rate of CRC cells. A mouse xenograft model was employed to assess tumor growth upon ZNF561-AS1 knockdown and SRSF6 rescue. Results We find that ZNF561-AS1 and SRSF6 were upregulated in CRC patient tissues. ZNF561-AS1 expression was reduced in tissues from treated CRC patients but upregulated in CRC tissues from relapsed patients. SRSF6 expression was suppressed and enhanced by ZNF561-AS1 depletion and overexpression, respectively. Mechanistically, ZNF561-AS1 regulated SRSF6 expression by sponging miR-26a-3p and miR-128-5p. ZNF561-AS1-miR-26a-3p/miR-128-5p-SRSF6 axis was required for CRC proliferation and survival. ZNF561-AS1 knockdown suppressed CRC cell proliferation and triggered apoptosis. ZNF561-AS1 depletion suppressed the growth of tumors in a model of a nude mouse xenograft. Similar observations were made upon SRSF6 depletion. SRSF6 overexpression reversed the inhibitory activities of ZNF561-AS1 in vivo, as well as in vitro. Conclusion In summary, we find that ZNF561-AS1 promotes CRC progression via the miR-26a-3p/miR-128-5p-SRSF6 axis. This study reveals new perspectives into the role of ZNF561-AS1 in CRC.


Viruses ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 361
Author(s):  
Rui-Zhu Shi ◽  
Yuan-Qing Pan ◽  
Li Xing

The RNA helicase A (RHA) is a member of DExH-box helicases and characterized by two double-stranded RNA binding domains at the N-terminus. RHA unwinds double-stranded RNA in vitro and is involved in RNA metabolisms in the cell. RHA is also hijacked by a variety of RNA viruses to facilitate virus replication. Herein, this review will provide an overview of the role of RHA in the replication of RNA viruses.


Viruses ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 1092
Author(s):  
János András Mótyán ◽  
Márió Miczi ◽  
Stephen Oroszlan ◽  
József Tőzsér

To explore the sequence context-dependent nature of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) protease’s specificity and to provide a rationale for viral mutagenesis to study the potential role of the nucleocapsid (NC) processing in HIV-1 replication, synthetic oligopeptide substrates representing the wild-type and modified versions of the proximal cleavage site of HIV-1 NC were assayed as substrates of the HIV-1 protease (PR). The S1′ substrate binding site of HIV-1 PR was studied by an in vitro assay using KIVKCF↓NCGK decapeptides having amino acid substitutions of N17 residue of the cleavage site of the first zinc-finger domain, and in silico calculations were also performed to investigate amino acid preferences of S1′ site. Second site substitutions have also been designed to produce “revertant” substrates and convert a non-hydrolysable sequence (having glycine in place of N17) to a substrate. The specificity constants obtained for peptides containing non-charged P1′ substitutions correlated well with the residue volume, while the correlation with the calculated interaction energies showed the importance of hydrophobicity: interaction energies with polar residues were related to substantially lower specificity constants. Cleavable “revertants” showed one residue shift of cleavage position due to an alternative productive binding mode, and surprisingly, a double cleavage of a substrate was also observed. The results revealed the importance of alternative binding possibilities of substrates into the HIV-1 PR. The introduction of the “revertant” mutations into infectious virus clones may provide further insights into the potential role of NC processing in the early phase of the viral life-cycle.


2010 ◽  
Vol 54 (6) ◽  
pp. 2345-2353 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolas A. Margot ◽  
Craig S. Gibbs ◽  
Michael D. Miller

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.


2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shan Qi ◽  
Javier Mota ◽  
Siu-Hong Chan ◽  
Johanna Villarreal ◽  
Nan Dai ◽  
...  

Methyltransferase like-3 (METTL3) and METTL14 complex transfers a methyl group from S-adenosyl-L-methionine to N6 amino group of adenosine bases in RNA (m6A) and DNA (m6dA). Emerging evidence highlights a role of METTL3-METTL14 in the chromatin context, especially in processes where DNA and RNA are held in close proximity. However, a mechanistic framework about specificity for substrate RNA/DNA and their interrelationship remain unclear. By systematically studying methylation activity and binding affinity to a number of DNA and RNA oligos with different propensities to form inter- or intra-molecular duplexes or single-stranded molecules in vitro, we uncover an inverse relationship for substrate binding and methylation and show that METTL3-METTL14 preferentially catalyzes the formation of m6dA in single-stranded DNA (ssDNA), despite weaker binding affinity to DNA. In contrast, it binds structured RNAs with high affinity, but methylates the target adenosine in RNA (m6A) much less efficiently than it does in ssDNA. We also show that METTL3-METTL14-mediated methylation of DNA is largely restricted by structured RNA elements prevalent in long noncoding and other cellular RNAs.


2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Priyanka ◽  
Renu Wadhwa ◽  
Rituparna Chaudhuri ◽  
Tapas Chandra Nag ◽  
Pankaj Seth

Abstract Background In human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) infection, activation of astrocytes induces imbalance in physiological functions due to perturbed astrocytic functions that unleashes toxicity on neurons. This leads to inflammatory response finally culminating into neurocognitive dysfunction. In neuroAIDS, HIV-1 protein, transactivator of transcription (Tat) is detected in the cerebrospinal fluid of infected patients. Mortalin, a multifunctional protein, has anti-inflammatory role following its activation in various stress conditions. Recent studies demonstrate downregulation of mortalin in neurodegenerative diseases. Here, we explored the mechanisms of mortalin in modulating HIV-1 Tat-mediated neuroinflammation. Methods Expression of mortalin in autopsy section in normal and diseased individuals were examined using immunohistochemistry. To decipher the role of mortalin in HIV-1 Tat-induced activation, human fetal brain-derived astrocytes were transiently transfected with Tat and mortalin using expression vectors. HIV-1 Tat-mediated damage was analyzed using RT-PCR and western blotting. Modulatory role of mortalin was examined by coexpressing it with Tat, followed by examination of mitochondrial morphodynamics using biochemical assay and confocal and electron microscopy. Extracellular ATP release was monitored using luciferase assay. Neuroinflammation in astrocytes was examined using flow cytometry, dye based study, immunocytochemistry, immunoprecipitation, and western blotting. Indirect neuronal damage was also analyzed. Results HIV-1 Tat downregulates the expression of mortalin in astrocytes, and this is corroborated with autopsy sections of HIV-1 patients. We found that overexpression of mortalin with Tat reduced inflammation and also rescued astrocytic-mediated neuronal death. Using bioinformatics, we discovered that binding of mortalin with Tat leads to Tat degradation and rescues the cell from neuroinflammation. Blocking of proteosomal pathway rescued the Tat degradation and revealed the ubiquitination of Tat. Conclusion Overall, our data demonstrated the protective role of mortalin in combating HIV-1 Tat-mediated damage. We also showed that mortalin could degrade Tat through direct binding with HIV-1 Tat. Overexpression of mortalin in the presence of Tat could significantly reduce cytotoxic effects of Tat in astrocytes. Indirect neuronal death was also found to be rescued. Our in vitro findings were validated as we found attenuated expression of mortalin in the autopsy sections of HIV-1 patients.


2000 ◽  
Vol 74 (18) ◽  
pp. 8252-8261 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hui Zhang ◽  
Roger J. Pomerantz ◽  
Geethanjali Dornadula ◽  
Yong Sun

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.


2003 ◽  
Vol 23 (19) ◽  
pp. 7044-7054 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonio Bedalov ◽  
Maki Hirao ◽  
Jeffrey Posakony ◽  
Melisa Nelson ◽  
Julian A. Simon

ABSTRACT Nicotine adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) performs key roles in electron transport reactions, as a substrate for poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase and NAD+-dependent protein deacetylases. In the latter two processes, NAD+ is consumed and converted to ADP-ribose and nicotinamide. NAD+ levels can be maintained by regeneration of NAD+ from nicotinamide via a salvage pathway or by de novo synthesis of NAD+ from tryptophan. Both pathways are conserved from yeast to humans. We describe a critical role of the NAD+-dependent deacetylase Hst1p as a sensor of NAD+ levels and regulator of NAD+ biosynthesis. Using transcript arrays, we show that low NAD+ states specifically induce the de novo NAD+ biosynthesis genes while the genes in the salvage pathway remain unaffected. The NAD+-dependent deacetylase activity of Hst1p represses de novo NAD+ biosynthesis genes in the absence of new protein synthesis, suggesting a direct effect. The known Hst1p binding partner, Sum1p, is present at promoters of highly inducible NAD+ biosynthesis genes. The removal of HST1-mediated repression of the NAD+ de novo biosynthesis pathway leads to increased cellular NAD+ levels. Transcript array analysis shows that reduction in cellular NAD+ levels preferentially affects Hst1p-regulated genes in comparison to genes regulated with other NAD+-dependent deacetylases (Sir2p, Hst2p, Hst3p, and Hst4p). In vitro experiments demonstrate that Hst1p has relatively low affinity toward NAD+ in comparison to other NAD+-dependent enzymes. These findings suggest that Hst1p serves as a cellular NAD+ sensor that monitors and regulates cellular NAD+ levels.


2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph T. Ortega ◽  
Alirica I. Suárez ◽  
Maria L. Serrano ◽  
Jani Baptista ◽  
Flor H. Pujol ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Anti Hiv ◽  

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