Study of biological properties of field isolates of cattle minor infections agents on homological cell cultures

Biological properties of field isolates of bovine immunodeficiency virus and bovine foamy virus on homological cell cultures (fetal bovine lung and bovine coronary artery endothelial cells) were investigated. Pathogens of bovine slow infections, namely bovine immunodeficiency virus and bovine foamy virus, are able to integrate into cell cultures of homologous to cattle type, which is confirmed by the results of PCR. There has been determined the presence of genetic material of pathogens of bovine immunodeficiency (BIV) and spumavirus infection (BFV) in the cultivation of lymphocytes of field isolates in the culture of bovine coronary artery endothelial cells (BCAEC) at the level of 5th passage, and in the cell culture of fetal bovine lung (FBL) — at the level of 10th passage. In the process of integration of pathogens of immunodeficiency and spumavirus infection of cattle in continuous cell cultures FBL and BCAEC, morphological changes in the state of the monolayer by the principle of syncytiation and vacuolation are observed

Conserved Interaction of Lentiviral Vif Molecules with HIV-1 Gag and Differential Effects of Species-Specific Vif on Virus Production

ABSTRACT The virion infectivity factor (Vif) open reading frame is conserved among most lentiviruses. Vif molecules contribute to viral replication by inactivating host antiviral factors, the APOBEC3 cytidine deaminases. However, various species of lentiviral Vif proteins have evolved different strategies for overcoming host APOBEC3. Whether different species of lentiviral Vif proteins still preserve certain common features has not been reported. Here, we show for the first time that diverse lentiviral Vif molecules maintain the ability to interact with the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) Gag precursor (Pr55Gag) polyprotein. Surprisingly, bovine immunodeficiency virus (BIV) Vif, but not HIV-1 Vif, interfered with HIV-1 production and viral infectivity even in the absence of APOBEC3. Further analysis revealed that BIV Vif demonstrated an enhanced interaction with Pr55Gag compared to that of HIV-1 Vif, and BIV Vif defective for the Pr55Gag interaction lost its ability to inhibit HIV-1. The C-terminal region of capsid (CA) and the p2 region of Pr55Gag, which are important for virus assembly and maturation, were involved in the interaction. Transduction of CD4+ T cells with BIV Vif blocked HIV-1 replication. Thus, the conserved Vif-Pr55Gag interaction provides a potential target for the future development of antiviral strategies. IMPORTANCE The conserved Vif accessory proteins of primate lentiviruses HIV-1, simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV), and BIV all form ubiquitin ligase complexes to target host antiviral APOBEC3 proteins for degradation, with different cellular requirements and using different molecular mechanisms. Here, we demonstrate that BIV Vif can interfere with HIV-1 Gag maturation and suppress HIV-1 replication through interaction with the precursor of the Gag (Pr55Gag) of HIV-1 in virus-producing cells. Moreover, the HIV-1 and SIV Vif proteins are conserved in terms of their interactions with HIV-1 Pr55Gag although HIV-1 Vif proteins bind Pr55Gag less efficiently than those of BIV Vif. Our research not only sheds new light on this feature of these conserved lentiviral Vif proteins but also provides a formerly unrecognized target for the development of antiviral strategies. Since increasing the Vif-Pr55Gag interaction could potentially suppress virus proliferation, this approach could offer a new strategy for the development of HIV inhibitors.