Regulation of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 Env-mediated membrane fusion by viral protease activity.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Murakami T
PROVIDER: S-EPMC368813 | biostudies-other | 2004 Jan
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other
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Project description:The host restriction factor tetherin inhibits virion release from infected cells and poses a significant barrier to successful zoonotic transmission of primate lentiviruses to humans. While most simian immunodeficiency viruses (SIV), including the direct precursors of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) and HIV-2, use their Nef protein to counteract tetherin in their natural hosts, they fail to antagonize the human tetherin ortholog. Pandemic HIV-1 group M and epidemic group O strains overcame this hurdle by adapting their Vpu and Nef proteins, respectively, whereas HIV-2 group A uses its envelope (Env) glycoprotein to counteract human tetherin. Whether or how the remaining eight groups of HIV-2 antagonize this antiviral factor has remained unclear. Here, we show that Nef proteins from diverse groups of HIV-2 do not or only modestly antagonize human tetherin, while their ability to downmodulate CD3 and CD4 is highly conserved. Experiments in transfected cell lines and infected primary cells revealed that not only Env proteins of epidemic HIV-2 group A but also those of a circulating recombinant form (CRF01_AB) and rare groups F and I decrease surface expression of human tetherin and significantly enhance progeny virus release. Intriguingly, we found that many SIVsmm Envs also counteract human as well as smm tetherin. Thus, Env-mediated tetherin antagonism in different groups of HIV-2 presumably stems from a preadaptation of their SIVsmm precursors to humans. In summary, we identified a phenotypic trait of SIVsmm that may have facilitated its successful zoonotic transmission to humans and the emergence of HIV-2.IMPORTANCE HIV-2 groups A to I resulted from nine independent cross-species transmission events of SIVsmm to humans and differ considerably in their prevalence and geographic spread. Thus, detailed characterization of these viruses offers a valuable means to elucidate immune evasion mechanisms and human-specific adaptations determining viral spread. In a systematic comparison of rare and epidemic HIV-2 groups and their simian SIVsmm counterparts, we found that the ability of Nef to downmodulate the primary viral entry receptor CD4 and the T cell receptor CD3 is conserved, while effects on CD28, CD74, and major histocompatibility complex class I surface expression vary considerably. Furthermore, we show that not only the Env proteins of HIV-2 groups A, AB, F, and I but also those of some SIVsmm isolates antagonize human tetherin. This finding helps to explain why SIVsmm has been able to cross the species barrier to humans on at least nine independent occasions.
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Project description:The initiation of drug therapy or the addition of a new drug to preexisting therapy can have a significant impact on human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) populations within a person. Drug therapy directed at reverse transcriptase and protease can result in dramatic decreases in virus load, causing a contraction in the virus population that represents a potential genetic bottleneck as a subset of virus with genomes carrying resistance mutations repopulate the host. While this bottleneck exerts an effect directly on the region that is being targeted by the drugs, it also affects other regions of the viral genome. We have applied heteroduplex tracking assays (HTA) specific to variable regions 1 and 2 (V1/V2) and variable region 3 (V3) of the HIV-1 env gene to analyze the effect of a genetic bottleneck created by the selection of resistance to ritonavir, a protease inhibitor. Subjects were classified into groups on the basis of the extent of the initial drop in virus load and the duration of virus load reduction. Subjects with a strong initial drop in virus load exhibited a loss of heterogeneity in the env region at virus load rebound; in contrast, subjects with a weak initial drop in virus load exhibited little to no loss of heterogeneity at virus load rebound in either region of env examined. The duration of virus load reduction also affected env populations. Subjects that had prolonged reductions exhibited slower population diversification and the appearance of new V1/V2 species after rebound. The longer reduction of virus load in these subjects may have allowed for improved immune system function, which in turn could have selected for new escape mutants. Subjects with rapid rebound quickly reequilibrated the entry env variants back into the resistant population. When the pro gene developed further resistance mutations subsequent to virus load rebound, no changes were observed in V1/V2 or V3 populations, suggesting that the high virus loads allowed the env populations to reequilibrate rapidly. The rapid equilibration of env variants during pro gene sequence transitions at high virus load suggests that recombination is active in defining the HIV-1 sequence population. Conversely, part of the success of suppressive antiviral therapy may be to limit the potential for evolution through recombination, which requires dually infected cells.
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Project description:We have identified a region within the ectodomain of the fusogenic human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) gp41, different from the fusion peptide, that interacts strongly with membranes. This conserved sequence, which immediately precedes the transmembrane anchor, is not highly hydrophobic according to the Kyte-Doolittle hydropathy prediction algorithm, yet it shows a high tendency to partition into the membrane interface, as revealed by the Wimley-White interfacial hydrophobicity scale. We have investigated here the membrane effects induced by NH(2)-DKWASLWNWFNITNWLWYIK-CONH(2) (HIV(c)), the membrane interface-partitioning region at the C terminus of the gp41 ectodomain, in comparison to those caused by NH(2)-AVGIGALFLGFLGAAGSTMGARS-CONH(2) (HIV(n)), the fusion peptide at the N terminus of the subunit. Both HIV(c) and HIV(n) were seen to induce membrane fusion and permeabilization, although lower doses of HIV(c) were required for comparable effects to be detected. Experiments in which equimolar mixtures of HIV(c) and HIV(n) were used indicated that both peptides may act in a cooperative way. Peptide-membrane and peptide-peptide interactions underlying those effects were further confirmed by analyzing the changes in fluorescence of peptide Trp residues. Replacement of the first three Trp residues by Ala, known to render a defective gp41 phenotype unable to mediate both cell-cell fusion and virus entry, also abrogated the HIV(c) ability to induce membrane fusion or form complexes with HIV(n) but not its ability to associate with vesicles. Hydropathy analysis indicated that the presence of two membrane-partitioning stretches separated by a collapsible intervening sequence is a common structural motif among other viral envelope proteins. Moreover, sequences with membrane surface-residing residues preceding the transmembrane anchor appeared to be a common feature in viral fusion proteins of several virus families. According to our experimental results, such a feature might be related to their fusogenic function.
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Project description:The ability of poxviruses to undergo intramolecular recombination within tandemly arranged homologous sequences can be used to generate chimeric genes and proteins. Genes containing regions of nucleotide homology will recombine to yield a single sequence composed of portions of both original genes. A recombinant virus containing two genes with a number of conserved regions will yield a population of recombinant viruses containing a spectrum of hybrid sequences derived by recombination between the original genes. This scheme has been used to generate hybrid human immunodeficiency virus type 1 env genes. Recombinant vaccinia viruses that contain two divergent env genes in tandem array have been constructed. In the absence of selective pressure to maintain both genes, recombination between conserved homologous regions in these genes generated a wide range of progeny, each of which expressed a novel variant polypeptide encoded by the newly created hybrid env gene. Poxvirus-mediated recombination may be applied to map type-specific epitopes, to create novel pharmaceuticals such as hybrid interferons, to study receptor-binding or enzyme substrate specificities, or to mimic the antigenic diversity found in numerous pathogens.
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Project description:Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) in the male genital tract may comprise virus produced locally in addition to virus transported from the circulation. Virus produced in the male genital tract may be genetically distinct, due to tissue-specific cellular characteristics and immunological pressures. HIV-1 env sequences derived from paired blood and semen samples from the Los Alamos HIV Sequence Database were analyzed to ascertain a male genital tract-specific viral signature. Machine learning algorithms could predict seminal tropism based on env sequences with accuracies exceeding 90%, suggesting that a strong genetic signature does exist for virus replicating in the male genital tract. Additionally, semen-derived viral populations exhibited constrained diversity (P < 0.05), decreased levels of positive selection (P < 0.025), decreased CXCR4 coreceptor utilization, and altered glycosylation patterns. Our analysis suggests that the male genital tract represents a distinct selective environment that contributes to the apparent genetic bottlenecks associated with the sexual transmission of HIV-1.
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Project description:The entry of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) into a target cell entails a series of conformational changes in the gp41 transmembrane glycoprotein that mediates the fusion of the viral and target cell membranes. A trimer-of-hairpins structure formed by the association of two heptad repeat (HR) regions of the gp41 ectodomain has been implicated in a late step of the fusion pathway. Earlier native and intermediate states of the protein are postulated to mediate the antiviral activity of the fusion inhibitor enfuvirtide and of broadly neutralizing monoclonal antibodies (NAbs), but the details of these structures remain unknown. Here, we report the identification and crystal structure of a dimerization domain in the C-terminal ectodomain of gp41 (residues 630 to 683, or C54). Two C54 monomers associate to form an asymmetric, antiparallel coiled coil with two distinct C-terminal alpha-helical overhangs. This dimer structure is conferred largely by interactions within a central core that corresponds to the sequence of enfuvirtide. The mutagenic alteration of the dimer interface severely impairs the infectivity of Env-pseudotyped viruses. Moreover, the C54 structure binds tightly to both the 2F5 and 4E10 NAbs and likely represents a potential intermediate conformation of gp41. These results should enhance our understanding of the molecular basis of the gp41 fusogenic structural transitions and thereby guide rational, structure-based efforts to design new fusion inhibitors and vaccine candidates intended to induce broadly neutralizing antibodies.
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Project description:Sequence variability associated with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) is useful for inferring structural and/or functional constraints at specific residues within the viral protease. Positions that are invariant even in the presence of drug selection define critically important residues for protease function. While the importance of conserved active-site residues is easily understood, the role of other invariant residues is not. This work focuses on invariant Thr80 at the apex of the P1 loop of HIV-1, HIV-2, and simian immunodeficiency virus protease. In a previous study, we postulated, on the basis of a molecular dynamics simulation of the unliganded protease, that Thr80 may play a role in the mobility of the flaps of protease. In the present study, both experimental and computational methods were used to study the role of Thr80 in HIV protease. Three protease variants (T80V, T80N, and T80S) were examined for changes in structure, dynamics, enzymatic activity, affinity for protease inhibitors, and viral infectivity. While all three variants were structurally similar to the wild type, only T80S was functionally similar. Both T80V and T80N had decreased the affinity for saquinavir. T80V significantly decreased the ability of the enzyme to cleave a peptide substrate but maintained infectivity, while T80N abolished both activity and viral infectivity. Additionally, T80N decreased the conformational flexibility of the flap region, as observed by simulations of molecular dynamics. Taken together, these data indicate that HIV-1 protease functions best when residue 80 is a small polar residue and that mutations to other amino acids significantly impair enzyme function, possibly by affecting the flexibility of the flap domain.
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Project description:Enveloped viruses infect host cells by fusion of viral and target membranes. This fusion event is triggered by specific glycoproteins in the viral envelope. Fusion glycoproteins belong to either class I, class II or the newly described third class, depending upon their arrangement at the surface of the virion, their tri-dimensional structure and the location within the protein of a short stretch of hydrophobic amino acids called the fusion peptide, which is able to induce the initial lipid destabilization at the onset of fusion. Viral fusion occurs either with the plasma membrane for pH-independent viruses, or with the endosomal membranes for pH-dependent viruses. Although, viral fusion proteins are parted in three classes and the subcellular localization of fusion might vary, these proteins have to act, in common, on lipid assemblies. Lipids contribute to fusion through their physical, mechanical and/or chemical properties. Lipids can thus play a role as chemically defined entities, or through their preferential partitioning into membrane microdomains called "rafts", or by modulating the curvature of the membranes involved in the fusion process. The purpose of this review is to make a state of the art on recent findings on the contribution of cholesterol, sphingolipids and glycolipids in cell entry and membrane fusion of a number of viral families, whose members bear either class I or class II fusion proteins, or fusion proteins of the recently discovered third class.
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Project description:Naturally occurring polymorphisms in the protease of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) subtype C would be expected to lead to adaptive (compensatory) changes in protease cleavage sites. To test this hypothesis, we examined the prevalences and patterns of cleavage site polymorphisms in the Gag, Gag-Pol, and Nef cleavage sites of C compared to those in non-C subtypes. Codon-based maximum-likelihood methods were used to assess the natural selection and evolutionary history of individual cleavage sites. Seven cleavage sites (p17/p24, p24/p2, NC/p1, NC/TFP, PR/RT, RT/p66, and p66/IN) were well conserved over time and in all HIV-1 subtypes. One site (p1/p6(gag)) exhibited moderate variation, and four sites (p2/NC, TFP/p6(pol), p6(pol)/PR, and Nef) were highly variable, both within and between subtypes. Three of the variable sites are known to be major determinants of polyprotein processing and virion production. P2/NC controls the rate and order of cleavage, p6(gag) is an important phosphoprotein required for virion release, and TFP/p6(pol), a novel cleavage site in the transframe domain, influences the specificity of Gag-Pol processing and the activation of protease. Overall, 58.3% of the 12 HIV-1 cleavage sites were significantly more diverse in C than in B viruses. When analyzed as a single concatenated fragment of 360 bp, 96.0% of group M cleavage site sequences fell into subtype-specific phylogenetic clusters, suggesting that they coevolved with the virus. Natural variation at C cleavage sites may play an important role, not only in regulation of the viral cycle but also in disease progression and response to therapy.
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