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Deng Y, Hammond JA, Pauszek R, Ozog S, Chai I, Rabuck-Gibbons J, Lamichhane R, Henderson SC, Millar DP, Torbett BE, Williamson JR. Discrimination between Functional and Non-functional Cellular Gag Complexes involved in HIV-1 Assembly. J Mol Biol 2021; 433:166842. [PMID: 33539875 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb.2021.166842] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2020] [Revised: 01/18/2021] [Accepted: 01/20/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
HIV-1 Gag and Gag-Pol are responsible for viral assembly and maturation and represent a major paradigm for enveloped virus assembly. Numerous intracellular Gag-containing complexes (GCCs) have been identified in cellular lysates using sucrose gradient ultracentrifugation. While these complexes are universally present in Gag-expressing cells, their roles in virus assembly are not well understood. Here we demonstrate that most GCC species are predominantly comprised of monomeric or dimeric Gag molecules bound to ribosomal complexes, and as such, are not on-pathway intermediates in HIV assembly. Rather, these GCCs represent a population of Gag that is not yet functionally committed for incorporation into a viable virion precursor. We hypothesize that these complexes act as a reservoir of monomeric Gag that can incorporate into assembling viruses, and serve to mitigate non-specific intracellular Gag oligomerization. We have identified a subset of large GCC complexes, comprising more than 20 Gag molecules, that may be equivalent to membrane-associated puncta previously shown to be bona fide assembling-virus intermediates. This work provides a clear rationale for the existence of diverse GCCs, and serves as the foundation for characterizing on-pathway intermediates early in virus assembly.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yisong Deng
- Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, United States
| | - John A Hammond
- Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, United States
| | - Raymond Pauszek
- Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, United States
| | - Stosh Ozog
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, United States
| | - Ilean Chai
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, United States
| | - Jessica Rabuck-Gibbons
- Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, United States
| | - Rajan Lamichhane
- Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, United States
| | - Scott C Henderson
- Department of Molecular Medicine, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, United States
| | - David P Millar
- Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, United States
| | - Bruce E Torbett
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, United States
| | - James R Williamson
- Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, United States; Department of Chemistry, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, United States; The Skaggs Institute of Chemical Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, United States.
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Broce S, Hensley L, Sato T, Lehrer-Graiwer J, Essrich C, Edwards KJ, Pajda J, Davis CJ, Bhadresh R, Hurt CR, Freeman B, Lingappa VR, Kelleher CA, Karpuj MV. Biochemical and biophysical characterization of cell-free synthesized Rift Valley fever virus nucleoprotein capsids enables in vitro screening to identify novel antivirals. Biol Direct 2016; 11:25. [PMID: 27179769 PMCID: PMC4867995 DOI: 10.1186/s13062-016-0126-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2016] [Accepted: 04/29/2016] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Viral capsid assembly involves the oligomerization of the capsid nucleoprotein (NP), which is an essential step in viral replication and may represent a potential antiviral target. An in vitro transcription-translation reaction using a wheat germ (WG) extract in combination with a sandwich ELISA assay has recently been used to identify small molecules with antiviral activity against the rabies virus. RESULTS Here, we examined the application of this system to viruses with capsids with a different structure, such as the Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV), the etiological agent of a severe emerging infectious disease. The biochemical and immunological characterization of the in vitro-generated RVFV NP assembly products enabled the distinction between intermediately and highly ordered capsid structures. This distinction was used to establish a screening method for the identification of potential antiviral drugs for RVFV countermeasures. CONCLUSIONS These results indicated that this unique analytical system, which combines nucleoprotein oligomerization with the specific immune recognition of a highly ordered capsid structure, can be extended to various viral families and used both to study the early stages of NP assembly and to assist in the identification of potential antiviral drugs in a cost-efficient manner. REVIEWERS Reviewed by Jeffry Skolnick and Noah Isakov. For the full reviews please go to the Reviewers' comments section.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sean Broce
- Prosetta Antiviral Inc, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | | | - Tomoharu Sato
- Prosetta Antiviral Inc, San Francisco, CA, USA
- DuPont Industrial Biosciences, Palo Alto, CA, USA
| | - Joshua Lehrer-Graiwer
- Prosetta Antiviral Inc, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Global Blood Therapeutics, Inc, Palo Alto, CA, USA
| | | | | | | | - Christopher J Davis
- Biomedical Advanced Research & Development Authority, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Preparedness & Response, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Rami Bhadresh
- Prosetta Antiviral Inc, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Biocon Bristol-Myers Squibb, Syngene International Ltd, Bangalore, India
| | | | | | | | - Colm A Kelleher
- Prosetta Antiviral Inc, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Bigelow Aerospace Advanced Space Studies, Las Vegas, NV, USA
| | - Marcela V Karpuj
- Prosetta Antiviral Inc, San Francisco, CA, USA.
- CUBRC, Inc, Buffalo, NY, USA.
- BioA2Z, Inc, San Francisco, CA, USA.
- Faculty of Medicine, Bar-Ilan University, 8 Henrietta Szold, Safed, 1311502, Israel.
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Bocanegra R, Fuertes MÁ, Rodríguez-Huete A, Neira JL, Mateu MG. Biophysical analysis of the MHR motif in folding and domain swapping of the HIV capsid protein C-terminal domain. Biophys J 2015; 108:338-49. [PMID: 25606682 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2014.11.3472] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2014] [Revised: 11/03/2014] [Accepted: 11/24/2014] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Infection by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) depends on the function, in virion morphogenesis and other stages of the viral cycle, of a highly conserved structural element, the major homology region (MHR), within the carboxyterminal domain (CTD) of the capsid protein. In a modified CTD dimer, MHR is swapped between monomers. While no evidence for MHR swapping has been provided by structural models of retroviral capsids, it is unknown whether it may occur transiently along the virus assembly pathway. Whatever the case, the MHR-swapped dimer does provide a novel target for the development of anti-HIV drugs based on the concept of trapping a nonnative capsid protein conformation. We have carried out a thermodynamic and kinetic characterization of the domain-swapped CTD dimer in solution. The analysis includes a dissection of the role of conserved MHR residues and other amino acids at the dimerization interface in CTD folding, stability, and dimerization by domain swapping. The results revealed some energetic hotspots at the domain-swapped interface. In addition, many MHR residues that are not in the protein hydrophobic core were nevertheless found to be critical for folding and stability of the CTD monomer, which may dramatically slow down the swapping reaction. Conservation of MHR residues in retroviruses did not correlate with their contribution to domain swapping, but it did correlate with their importance for stable CTD folding. Because folding is required for capsid protein function, this remarkable MHR-mediated conformational stabilization of CTD may help to explain the functional roles of MHR not only during immature capsid assembly but in other processes associated with retrovirus infection. This energetic dissection of the dimerization interface in MHR-swapped CTD may also facilitate the design of anti-HIV compounds that inhibit capsid assembly by conformational trapping of swapped CTD dimers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebeca Bocanegra
- Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas-Universidad Autónoma de Madrid), Madrid, Spain
| | - Miguel Ángel Fuertes
- Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas-Universidad Autónoma de Madrid), Madrid, Spain
| | - Alicia Rodríguez-Huete
- Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas-Universidad Autónoma de Madrid), Madrid, Spain
| | - José Luis Neira
- Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular, Universidad Miguel Hernández, Elche, and Instituto de Biocomputación y Física de los Sistemas Complejos, Zaragoza, Spain
| | - Mauricio G Mateu
- Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas-Universidad Autónoma de Madrid), Madrid, Spain.
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Wu H, Mitra M, McCauley MJ, Thomas JA, Rouzina I, Musier-Forsyth K, Williams MC, Gorelick RJ. Aromatic residue mutations reveal direct correlation between HIV-1 nucleocapsid protein's nucleic acid chaperone activity and retroviral replication. Virus Res 2013; 171:263-77. [PMID: 22814429 PMCID: PMC3745225 DOI: 10.1016/j.virusres.2012.07.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2012] [Revised: 07/02/2012] [Accepted: 07/07/2012] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Abstract
The human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) nucleocapsid (NC) protein plays an essential role in several stages of HIV-1 replication. One important function of HIV-1 NC is to act as a nucleic acid chaperone, in which the protein facilitates nucleic acid rearrangements important for reverse transcription and recombination. NC contains only 55 amino acids, with 15 basic residues and two zinc fingers, each having a single aromatic residue (Phe16 and Trp37). Despite its simple structure, HIV-1 NC appears to have optimal chaperone activity, including the ability to strongly aggregate nucleic acids, destabilize nucleic acid secondary structure, and facilitate rapid nucleic acid annealing. Here we combine single molecule DNA stretching experiments with ensemble solution studies of protein-nucleic acid binding affinity, oligonucleotide annealing, and nucleic acid aggregation to measure the characteristics of wild-type (WT) and aromatic residue mutants of HIV-1 NC that are important for nucleic acid chaperone activity. These in vitro results are compared to in vivo HIV-1 replication for viruses containing the same mutations. This work allows us to directly relate HIV-1 NC structure with its function as a nucleic acid chaperone in vitro and in vivo. We show that replacement of either aromatic residue with another aromatic residue results in a protein that strongly resembles WT NC. In contrast, single amino acid substitutions of either Phe16Ala or Trp37Ala significantly slow down NC's DNA interaction kinetics, while retaining some helix-destabilization capability. A double Phe16Ala/Trp37Ala substitution further reduces the latter activity. Surprisingly, the ensemble nucleic acid binding, annealing, and aggregation properties are not significantly altered for any mutant except the double aromatic substitution with Ala. Thus, elimination of a single aromatic residue from either zinc finger strongly reduces NC's chaperone activity as determined by single molecule DNA stretching experiments without significantly altering its ensemble-averaged biochemical properties. Importantly, the substitution of aromatic residues with Ala progressively decreases NC's nucleic acid chaperone activity while also progressively inhibiting viral replication. Taken together, these data support the critical role of HIV-1 NC's aromatic residues, and establish a direct and statistically significant correlation between nucleic acid chaperone activity and viral replication.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hao Wu
- Northeastern University, Department of Physics, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Mithun Mitra
- The Ohio State University, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Center for Retrovirus Research, Center for RNA Biology, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
| | - Micah J. McCauley
- Northeastern University, Department of Physics, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - James A. Thomas
- AIDS and Cancer Virus Program, SAIC-Frederick, Inc., Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Frederick, MD 21702, USA
| | - Ioulia Rouzina
- University of Minnesota, Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Biophysics, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Karin Musier-Forsyth
- The Ohio State University, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Center for Retrovirus Research, Center for RNA Biology, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
| | - Mark C. Williams
- Northeastern University, Department of Physics, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Robert J. Gorelick
- AIDS and Cancer Virus Program, SAIC-Frederick, Inc., Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Frederick, MD 21702, USA
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6
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Muriaux D, Darlix JL. Properties and functions of the nucleocapsid protein in virus assembly. RNA Biol 2010; 7:744-53. [PMID: 21157181 DOI: 10.4161/rna.7.6.14065] [Citation(s) in RCA: 85] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
HIV-1 nucleocapsid protein (NC) is a small basic protein generated by the cleavage of the Gag structural polyprotein precusor by the viral protease during virus assembly in the infected cell. HIV-1 NC possesses two copies of a highly conserved CCHC zinc finger (ZnF), flanked by basic residues. HIV-1 NC and more generally retroviral NC proteins are nucleic acid binding proteins possessing potent nucleic acid condensing and chaperoning activities. As such NC protein drives critical structural rearrangements of the genomic RNA, notably RNA dimerization in the course of virus assembly and viral nucleic acid annealing required for genomic RNA replication by the viral reverse transcriptase (RT). Here we review the relationships between the 3D structure of HIV-1 NC, notably the central globular domain encompassing the two zinc fingers and the basic linker and NC functions in the early and late phases of virus replication. One of the salient feature of the NC central globular domain is an hydrophobic plateau which appears to orchestrate the NC functions, such as chaperoning the conversion of the genomic RNA into viral DNA by RT during the early phase, and driving the selection and dimerization of the genomic RNA at the initial stage of viral particle assembly. This ensures a bona fide trafficking of early GagNC-genomic RNA complexes to the plasma membrane of the infected cell and ultimately virion formation and budding.
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