Faculty Opinions recommendation of Nanoscopic spine localization of Norbin, an mGluR5 accessory protein.

Author(s):  
Donna Webb
Keyword(s):  
2020 ◽  
Vol 295 (13) ◽  
pp. 4252-4264 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chu Wang ◽  
Kaikai Zhang ◽  
Lina Meng ◽  
Xin Zhang ◽  
Yanan Song ◽  
...  

SAM and HD domain-containing protein 1 (SAMHD1) is a host factor that restricts reverse transcription of lentiviruses such as HIV in myeloid cells and resting T cells through its dNTP triphosphohydrolase (dNTPase) activity. Lentiviruses counteract this restriction by expressing the accessory protein Vpx or Vpr, which targets SAMHD1 for proteasomal degradation. SAMHD1 is conserved among mammals, and the feline and bovine SAMHD1 proteins (fSAM and bSAM) restrict lentiviruses by reducing cellular dNTP concentrations. However, the functional regions of fSAM and bSAM that are required for their biological functions are not well-characterized. Here, to establish alternative models to investigate SAMHD1 in vivo, we studied the restriction profile of fSAM and bSAM against different primate lentiviruses. We found that both fSAM and bSAM strongly restrict primate lentiviruses and that Vpx induces the proteasomal degradation of both fSAM and bSAM. Further investigation identified one and five amino acid sites in the C-terminal domain (CTD) of fSAM and bSAM, respectively, that are required for Vpx-mediated degradation. We also found that the CTD of bSAM is directly involved in mediating bSAM's antiviral activity by regulating dNTPase activity, whereas the CTD of fSAM is not. Our results suggest that the CTDs of fSAM and bSAM have important roles in their antiviral functions. These findings advance our understanding of the mechanism of fSAM- and bSAM-mediated viral restriction and might inform strategies for improving HIV animal models.


2016 ◽  
Vol 184 ◽  
pp. 11-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tanja Lemmermeyer ◽  
Benjamin Lamp ◽  
Rainer Schneider ◽  
John Ziebuhr ◽  
Gergely Tekes ◽  
...  

2015 ◽  
Vol 89 (23) ◽  
pp. 12118-12130 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ferdinand Roesch ◽  
Léa Richard ◽  
Réjane Rua ◽  
Françoise Porrot ◽  
Nicoletta Casartelli ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTThe HIV-1 accessory protein Vpr displays different activities potentially impacting viral replication, including the arrest of the cell cycle in the G2phase and the stimulation of apoptosis and DNA damage response pathways. Vpr also modulates cytokine production by infected cells, but this property remains partly characterized. Here, we investigated the effect of Vpr on the production of the proinflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor (TNF). We report that Vpr significantly increases TNF secretion by infected lymphocytes.De novoproduction of Vpr is required for this effect. Vpr mutants known to be defective for G2cell cycle arrest induce lower levels of TNF secretion, suggesting a link between these two functions. Silencing experiments and the use of chemical inhibitors further implicated the cellular proteins DDB1 and TAK1 in this activity of Vpr. TNF secreted by HIV-1-infected cells triggers NF-κB activity in bystander cells and allows viral reactivation in a model of latently infected cells. Thus, the stimulation of the proinflammatory pathway by Vpr may impact HIV-1 replicationin vivo.IMPORTANCEThe role of the HIV-1 accessory protein Vpr remains only partially characterized. This protein is important for viral pathogenesis in infected individuals but is dispensable for viral replication in most cell culture systems. Some of the functions described for Vpr remain controversial. In particular, it remains unclear whether Vpr promotes or instead prevents proinflammatory and antiviral immune responses. In this report, we show that Vpr promotes the release of TNF, a proinflammatory cytokine associated with rapid disease progression. Using Vpr mutants or inhibiting selected cellular genes, we show that the cellular proteins DDB1 and TAK1 are involved in the release of TNF by HIV-infected cells. This report provides novel insights into how Vpr manipulates TNF production and helps clarify the role of Vpr in innate immune responses and inflammation.


2011 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. 227-232 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca J Gorrigan ◽  
Leonardo Guasti ◽  
Peter King ◽  
Adrian J Clark ◽  
Li F Chan

The melanocortin-2-receptor (MC2R)/MC2R accessory protein (MRAP) complex is critical to the production of glucocorticoids from the adrenal cortex. Inactivating mutations in either MC2R or MRAP result in the clinical condition familial glucocorticoid deficiency. The localisation of MC2R together with MRAP within the adrenal gland has not previously been reported. Furthermore, MRAP2, a paralogue of MRAP, has been shown in vitro to have a similar function to MRAP, facilitating MC2R trafficking and responsiveness to ACTH. Despite similar MC2R accessory functions, in vivo, patients with inactivating mutations of MRAP fail to be rescued by a functioning MRAP2 gene, suggesting differences in adrenal expression, localisation and/or function between the two MRAPs. In this study on the rat adrenal gland, we demonstrate that while MRAP and MC2R are highly expressed in the zona fasciculata, MRAP2 is expressed throughout the adrenal cortex in low quantities. In the developing adrenal gland, both MRAP and MRAP2 are equally well expressed. The MC2R/MRAP2 complex requires much higher concentrations of ACTH to activate compared with the MC2R/MRAP complex. Interestingly, expression of MC2R and MRAP in the undifferentiated zone would support the notion that ACTH may play an important role in adrenal cell differentiation and maintenance.


2011 ◽  
Vol 100 (3) ◽  
pp. 605a
Author(s):  
Sameer K. Singh ◽  
Luis Möckel ◽  
Marc Wittlich ◽  
Dieter Willbold ◽  
Bernd W. Koenig
Keyword(s):  

2008 ◽  
Vol 89 (6) ◽  
pp. 1442-1445 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marion Poenisch ◽  
Peter Staeheli ◽  
Urs Schneider

The Borna disease virus (BDV) proteins X and P are translated from a bicistronic viral mRNA. Here, it was shown that the rescue of recombinant BDV from cDNA was enhanced approximately eightfold if reconstitution of the viral polymerase complex was performed with an expression vector encoding X and P rather than P alone. The results provide evidence that appropriate amounts of X reduce the previously reported high sensitivity of the BDV polymerase to imbalances between the viral proteins N and P. These data indicate that X buffers an unfavourable excess of P, thereby stimulating the assembly of functional BDV polymerase complexes.


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