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Pellaers E, Bhat A, Christ F, Debyser Z. Determinants of Retroviral Integration and Implications for Gene Therapeutic MLV-Based Vectors and for a Cure for HIV-1 Infection. Viruses 2022; 15:32. [PMID: 36680071 PMCID: PMC9861059 DOI: 10.3390/v15010032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2022] [Revised: 12/14/2022] [Accepted: 12/16/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
To complete their replication cycle, retroviruses need to integrate a DNA copy of their RNA genome into a host chromosome. Integration site selection is not random and is driven by multiple viral and cellular host factors specific to different classes of retroviruses. Today, overwhelming evidence from cell culture, animal experiments and clinical data suggests that integration sites are important for retroviral replication, oncogenesis and/or latency. In this review, we will summarize the increasing knowledge of the mechanisms underlying the integration site selection of the gammaretrovirus MLV and the lentivirus HIV-1. We will discuss how host factors of the integration site selection of retroviruses may steer the development of safer viral vectors for gene therapy. Next, we will discuss how altering the integration site preference of HIV-1 using small molecules could lead to a cure for HIV-1 infection.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Zeger Debyser
- Molecular Virology and Gene Therapy, KU Leuven, Herestraat 49, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
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2
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HIV-1 Gag Recruits Oligomeric Vpr via Two Binding Sites in p6, but Both Mature p6 and Vpr Are Rapidly Lost upon Target Cell Entry. J Virol 2021; 95:e0055421. [PMID: 34106747 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.00554-21] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The p12 region of murine leukemia virus (MLV) Gag and the p6 region of HIV-1 Gag contain late domains required for virus budding. Additionally, the accessory protein Vpr is recruited into HIV particles via p6. Mature p12 is essential for early viral replication events, but the role of mature p6 in early replication is unknown. Using a proviral vector in which the gag and pol reading frames are uncoupled, we have performed the first alanine-scanning mutagenesis screens across p6 to probe its importance for early HIV-1 replication and to further understand its interaction with Vpr. The infectivity of our mutants suggests that, unlike p12, p6 is not important for early viral replication. Consistent with this, we observed that p6 is rapidly lost upon target cell entry in time course immunoblot experiments. By analyzing Vpr incorporation into p6 mutant virions, we identified that the 15-FRFG-18 and 41-LXXLF-45 motifs previously identified as putative Vpr-binding sites are important for Vpr recruitment but that the 34-ELY-36 motif also suggested to be a Vpr-binding site is dispensable. Additionally, disrupting Vpr oligomerization together with removing either binding motif in p6 reduced Vpr incorporation ∼25- to 50-fold more than inhibiting Vpr oligomerization alone and ∼10- to 25-fold more than deleting each p6 motif alone, implying that multivalency/avidity is important for the interaction. Interestingly, using immunoblotting and immunofluorescence, we observed that most Vpr is lost concomitantly with p6 during infection but that a small fraction remains associated with the viral capsid for several hours. This has implications for the function of Vpr in early replication. IMPORTANCE The p12 protein of MLV and the p6 protein of HIV-1 are both supplementary Gag cleavage products that carry proline-rich motifs that facilitate virus budding. Importantly, p12 has also been found to be essential for early viral replication events. However, while Vpr, the only accessory protein packaged into HIV-1 virions, is recruited via the p6 region of Gag, the function of both mature p6 and Vpr in early replication is unclear. Here, we have systematically mutated the p6 region of Gag and have studied the effects on HIV infectivity and Vpr packaging. We have also investigated what happens to p6 and Vpr during early infection. We show that, unlike p12, mature p6 is not required for early replication and that most of the mature p6 and the Vpr that it recruits are lost rapidly upon target cell entry. This has implications for the role of Vpr in target cells.
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Mauch-Mücke K, Schön K, Paulus C, Nevels MM. Evidence for Tethering of Human Cytomegalovirus Genomes to Host Chromosomes. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2020; 10:577428. [PMID: 33117732 PMCID: PMC7561393 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2020.577428] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2020] [Accepted: 08/17/2020] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Tethering of viral genomes to host chromosomes has been recognized in a variety of DNA and RNA viruses. It can occur during both the productive cycle and latent infection and may impact viral genomes in manifold ways including their protection, localization, transcription, replication, integration, and segregation. Tethering is typically accomplished by dedicated viral proteins that simultaneously associate with both the viral genome and cellular chromatin via nucleic acid, histone and/or non-histone protein interactions. Some of the most prominent tethering proteins have been identified in DNA viruses establishing sustained latent infections, including members of the papillomaviruses and herpesviruses. Herpesvirus particles have linear genomes that circularize in infected cell nuclei and usually persist as extrachromosomal episomes. In several γ-herpesviruses, tethering facilitates the nuclear retention and faithful segregation of viral episomes during cell division, thus contributing to persistence of these viruses in the absence of infectious particle production. However, it has not been studied whether the genomes of human Cytomegalovirus (hCMV), the prototypical β-herpesvirus, are tethered to host chromosomes. Here we provide evidence by fluorescence in situ hybridization that hCMV genomes associate with the surface of human mitotic chromosomes following infection of both non-permissive myeloid and permissive fibroblast cells. This chromosome association occurs at lower frequency in the absence of the immediate-early 1 (IE1) proteins, which bind to histones and have been implicated in the maintenance of hCMV episomes. Our findings point to a mechanism of hCMV genome maintenance through mitosis and suggest a supporting but non-essential role of IE1 in this process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katrin Mauch-Mücke
- Institute for Medical Microbiology and Hygiene, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Kathrin Schön
- Institute for Medical Microbiology and Hygiene, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Christina Paulus
- Biomedical Sciences Research Complex, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, United Kingdom
| | - Michael M Nevels
- Biomedical Sciences Research Complex, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, United Kingdom
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Borrenberghs D, Zurnic I, De Wit F, Acke A, Dirix L, Cereseto A, Debyser Z, Hendrix J. Post-mitotic BET-induced reshaping of integrase quaternary structure supports wild-type MLV integration. Nucleic Acids Res 2019; 47:1195-1210. [PMID: 30445610 PMCID: PMC6379647 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gky1157] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2018] [Revised: 10/28/2018] [Accepted: 10/30/2018] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
The Moloney murine leukemia virus (MLV) is a prototype gammaretrovirus requiring nuclear disassembly before DNA integration. In the nucleus, integration site selection towards promoter/enhancer elements is mediated by the host factor bromo- and extraterminal domain (BET) proteins (bromodomain (Brd) proteins 2, 3 and 4). MLV-based retroviral vectors are used in gene therapy trials. In some trials leukemia occurred through integration of the MLV vector in close proximity to cellular oncogenes. BET-mediated integration is poorly understood and the nature of integrase oligomers heavily debated. Here, we created wild-type infectious MLV vectors natively incorporating fluorescent labeled IN and performed single-molecule intensity and Förster resonance energy transfer experiments. The nuclear localization of the MLV pre-integration complex neither altered the IN content, nor its quaternary structure. Instead, BET-mediated interaction of the MLV intasome with chromatin in the post-mitotic nucleus reshaped its quaternary structure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Doortje Borrenberghs
- Laboratory for Photochemistry and Spectroscopy, Department of Chemistry, KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200F, B-3001 Leuven, Belgium.,Laboratory for Molecular Virology and Gene Therapy, Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, KU Leuven, Kapucijnenvoer 33, B-3000 Leuven, Flanders, Belgium
| | - Irena Zurnic
- Laboratory for Molecular Virology and Gene Therapy, Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, KU Leuven, Kapucijnenvoer 33, B-3000 Leuven, Flanders, Belgium
| | - Flore De Wit
- Laboratory for Molecular Virology and Gene Therapy, Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, KU Leuven, Kapucijnenvoer 33, B-3000 Leuven, Flanders, Belgium
| | - Aline Acke
- Laboratory for Photochemistry and Spectroscopy, Department of Chemistry, KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200F, B-3001 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Lieve Dirix
- Laboratory for Photochemistry and Spectroscopy, Department of Chemistry, KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200F, B-3001 Leuven, Belgium.,Laboratory for Molecular Virology and Gene Therapy, Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, KU Leuven, Kapucijnenvoer 33, B-3000 Leuven, Flanders, Belgium
| | - Anna Cereseto
- Center for Integrative Biology (CIBIO), University of Trento, I-38123 Trento, Italy
| | - Zeger Debyser
- Laboratory for Molecular Virology and Gene Therapy, Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, KU Leuven, Kapucijnenvoer 33, B-3000 Leuven, Flanders, Belgium
| | - Jelle Hendrix
- Laboratory for Photochemistry and Spectroscopy, Department of Chemistry, KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200F, B-3001 Leuven, Belgium.,Dynamic Bioimaging Lab, Advanced Optical Microscopy Centre and Biomedical Research Institute (BIOMED), Hasselt University, Agoralaan C, B-3590 Diepenbeek, Belgium
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Abstract
Immature retroviruses are built by the Gag polyprotein; Gag is then cut into domains, and the resulting CA capsid proteins form the mature capsid, which can mediate infection of a new cell. Murine leukemia virus (MLV) is a model retrovirus and the basis for gene-delivery vectors. We determined the capsid structures and architectures for immature and mature MLV. The mature MLV core does not enclose the genome in a closed capsid by using only part of the available proteins, as is the case for HIV-1. Instead, it wraps the genome in curved sheets incorporating most CA proteins. Retroviruses therefore have fundamentally different modes of core assembly and genome protection, which may relate to differences in their early replication. Retroviruses assemble and bud from infected cells in an immature form and require proteolytic maturation for infectivity. The CA (capsid) domains of the Gag polyproteins assemble a protein lattice as a truncated sphere in the immature virion. Proteolytic cleavage of Gag induces dramatic structural rearrangements; a subset of cleaved CA subsequently assembles into the mature core, whose architecture varies among retroviruses. Murine leukemia virus (MLV) is the prototypical γ-retrovirus and serves as the basis of retroviral vectors, but the structure of the MLV CA layer is unknown. Here we have combined X-ray crystallography with cryoelectron tomography to determine the structures of immature and mature MLV CA layers within authentic viral particles. This reveals the structural changes associated with maturation, and, by comparison with HIV-1, uncovers conserved and variable features. In contrast to HIV-1, most MLV CA is used for assembly of the mature core, which adopts variable, multilayered morphologies and does not form a closed structure. Unlike in HIV-1, there is similarity between protein–protein interfaces in the immature MLV CA layer and those in the mature CA layer, and structural maturation of MLV could be achieved through domain rotations that largely maintain hexameric interactions. Nevertheless, the dramatic architectural change on maturation indicates that extensive disassembly and reassembly are required for mature core growth. The core morphology suggests that wrapping of the genome in CA sheets may be sufficient to protect the MLV ribonucleoprotein during cell entry.
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Wanaguru M, Barry DJ, Benton DJ, O’Reilly NJ, Bishop KN. Murine leukemia virus p12 tethers the capsid-containing pre-integration complex to chromatin by binding directly to host nucleosomes in mitosis. PLoS Pathog 2018; 14:e1007117. [PMID: 29906285 PMCID: PMC6021111 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1007117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2018] [Revised: 06/27/2018] [Accepted: 05/22/2018] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
The murine leukaemia virus (MLV) Gag cleavage product, p12, is essential for both early and late steps in viral replication. The N-terminal domain of p12 binds directly to capsid (CA) and stabilises the mature viral core, whereas defects in the C-terminal domain (CTD) of p12 can be rescued by addition of heterologous chromatin binding sequences (CBSs). We and others hypothesised that p12 tethers the pre-integration complex (PIC) to host chromatin ready for integration. Using confocal microscopy, we have observed for the first time that CA localises to mitotic chromatin in infected cells in a p12-dependent manner. GST-tagged p12 alone, however, did not localise to chromatin and mass-spectrometry analysis of its interactions identified only proteins known to bind the p12 region of Gag. Surprisingly, the ability to interact with chromatin was conferred by a single amino acid change, M63I, in the p12 CTD. Interestingly, GST-p12_M63I showed increased phosphorylation in mitosis relative to interphase, which correlated with an increased interaction with mitotic chromatin. Mass-spectrometry analysis of GST-p12_M63I revealed nucleosomal histones as primary interactants. Direct binding of MLV p12_M63I peptides to histones was confirmed by biolayer-interferometry (BLI) assays using highly-avid recombinant poly-nucleosomal arrays. Excitingly, using this method, we also observed binding between MLV p12_WT and nucleosomes. Nucleosome binding was additionally detected with p12 orthologs from feline and gibbon ape leukemia viruses using both pull-down and BLI assays, indicating that this a common feature of gammaretroviral p12 proteins. Importantly, p12 peptides were able to block the binding of the prototypic foamy virus CBS to nucleosomes and vice versa, implying that their docking sites overlap and suggesting a conserved mode of chromatin tethering for different retroviral genera. We propose that p12 is acting in a similar capacity to CPSF6 in HIV-1 infection by facilitating initial chromatin targeting of CA-containing PICs prior to integration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Madushi Wanaguru
- Retroviral Replication Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London, United Kingdom
| | - David J. Barry
- Advanced Light Microscopy Facility, The Francis Crick Institute, London, United Kingdom
| | - Donald J. Benton
- Structural Biology of Disease Processes Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London, United Kingdom
| | | | - Kate N. Bishop
- Retroviral Replication Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London, United Kingdom
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Renner TM, Bélanger K, Lam C, Gerpe MCR, McBane JE, Langlois MA. Full-Length Glycosylated Gag of Murine Leukemia Virus Can Associate with the Viral Envelope as a Type I Integral Membrane Protein. J Virol 2018; 92:e01530-17. [PMID: 29298890 PMCID: PMC5827372 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.01530-17] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2017] [Accepted: 12/20/2017] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The glycosylated Gag protein (gPr80) of murine leukemia viruses (MLVs) has been shown to exhibit multiple roles in facilitating retrovirus release, infection, and resistance to host-encoded retroviral restriction factors, such as APOBEC3, SERINC3, and SERINC5. One way in which gPr80 helps MLVs to escape host innate immune restriction is by increasing capsid stability, a feature that protects viral replication intermediates from being detected by cytosolic DNA sensors. gPr80 also increases the resistance of MLVs to deamination and restriction by mouse APOBEC3 (mA3). How the gPr80 accessory protein, with its three N-linked glycosylation sites, contributes to these resistance mechanisms is still not fully understood. Here we further characterized the function of gPr80 and, more specifically, revealed that the asparagines targeted for glycosylation in gPr80 also contribute to capsid stability through their parallel involvement in the Pr65 Gag structural polyprotein. In fact, we demonstrate that sensitivity to deamination by the mA3 and human A3 proteins is directly linked to capsid stability. We also show that full-length gPr80 is detected in purified viruses. However, our results suggest that gPr80 is inserted in the NexoCcyto orientation of a type I integral membrane protein. Additionally, our experiments have revealed the existence of a large population of Env-deficient virus-like particles (VLPs) harboring gPr80 inserted in the opposite (NcytoCexo) polarity, which is typical of type II integral membrane proteins. Overall this study provides new insight into the complex nature of the MLV gPr80 accessory protein.IMPORTANCE Viruses have evolved numerous strategies to infect, spread in, and persist in their hosts. Here we analyze the details of how the MLV-encoded glycosylated Gag (gPr80) protein protects the virus from being restricted by host innate immune defenses. gPr80 is a variant of the structural Pr65 Gag protein with an 88-amino-acid extended leader sequence that directs the protein for translation and glycosylation in the endoplasmic reticulum. This study dissects the specific contributions of gPr80 glycans and capsid stability in helping the virus to infect cells, spread, and counteract the effects of the host intrinsic restriction factor APOBEC3. Overall this study provides further insight into the elusive role of the gPr80 protein.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tyler Milston Renner
- Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Kasandra Bélanger
- Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Cindy Lam
- Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - María Carla Rosales Gerpe
- Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Joanne Eileen McBane
- Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Marc-André Langlois
- Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
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Repression of the Chromatin-Tethering Domain of Murine Leukemia Virus p12. J Virol 2016; 90:11197-11207. [PMID: 27707926 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.01084-16] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2016] [Accepted: 09/28/2016] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Murine leukemia virus (MLV) p12, encoded within Gag, binds the viral preintegration complex (PIC) to the mitotic chromatin. This acts to anchor the viral PIC in the nucleus as the nuclear envelope re-forms postmitosis. Mutations within the p12 C terminus (p12 PM13 to PM15) block early stages in viral replication. Within the p12 PM13 region (p12 60PSPMA65), our studies indicated that chromatin tethering was not detected when the wild-type (WT) p12 protein (M63) was expressed as a green fluorescent protein (GFP) fusion; however, constructs bearing p12-I63 were tethered. N-terminal truncations of the activated p12-I63-GFP indicated that tethering increased further upon deletion of p12 25DLLTEDPPPY34, which includes the late domain required for viral assembly. The p12 PM15 sequence (p12 70RREPP74) is critical for wild-type viral viability; however, virions bearing the PM15 mutation (p12 70AAAAA74) with a second M63I mutant were viable, with a titer 18-fold lower than that of the WT. The p12 M63I mutation amplified chromatin tethering and compensated for the loss of chromatin binding of p12 PM15. Rescue of the p12-M63-PM15 nonviable mutant with prototype foamy virus (PFV) and Kaposi's sarcoma herpesvirus (KSHV) tethering sequences confirmed the function of p1270-74 in chromatin binding. Minimally, full-strength tethering was seen with only p12 61SPIASRLRGRR71 fused to GFP. These results indicate that the p12 C terminus alone is sufficient for chromatin binding and that the presence of the p12 25DLLTEDPPPY34 motif in the N terminus suppresses the ability to tether. IMPORTANCE This study defines a regulatory mechanism controlling the differential roles of the MLV p12 protein in early and late replication. During viral assembly and egress, the late domain within the p12 N terminus functions to bind host vesicle release factors. During viral entry, the C terminus of p12 is required for tethering to host mitotic chromosomes. Our studies indicate that the p12 domain including the PPPY late sequence temporally represses the p12 chromatin tethering motif. Maximal p12 tethering was identified with only an 11-amino-acid minimal chromatin tethering motif encoded at p1261-71 Within this region, the p12-M63I substitution switches p12 into a tethering-competent state, partially rescuing the p12-PM15 tethering mutant. A model for how this conformational change regulates early versus late functions is presented.
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Phosphorylation Requirement of Murine Leukemia Virus p12. J Virol 2016; 90:11208-11219. [PMID: 27707931 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.01178-16] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2016] [Accepted: 09/28/2016] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The p12 protein of murine leukemia virus (MLV) Gag is associated with the preintegration complex (PIC), and mutants of p12 (PM14) exhibit defects in nuclear entry/retention. Mutants of the phosphorylated serine 61 also have been reported to have defects in the early life cycle. Here we show that a phosphorylated peptide motif derived from human papillomavirus 8 (HPV-8), the E2 hinge region including residues 240 to 255, can functionally replace the main phosphorylated motif of MLV p12 and can rescue the viral titer of a strain with the lethal p12-PM14 mutation. Complementation with the HPV-8 E2 hinge motif generated multiple second-site mutations in live viral passage assays. Additional p12 phosphorylation sites were detected, including the late domain of p12 (PPPY) as well as the late domain/protease cleavage site of matrix (LYPAL), by mass spectrometry and Western blotting. Chromatin binding of p12-green fluorescent protein (GFP) fusion protein and functional complementation of p12-PM14 occurred in a manner independent of the E2 hinge region phosphorylation. Replacement of serine 61 by alanine within the minimal tethering domain (61SPMASRLRGRR71) maintained tethering, but in the context of the full-length p12, mutants with substitutions in S61 remained untethered and lost infectivity, indicating phosphorylation of p12 serine 61 functions to temporally regulate early and late p12 functions. IMPORTANCE The p12 protein, required for both early and late viral functions, is the predominant phosphorylated viral protein of Moloney MLV and is required for virus viability. Our studies indicate that the N terminus of p12 represses the early function of the chromatin binding domain and that deletion of the N terminus activates chromatin binding in the wild-type Moloney MLV p12 protein. Mass spectrometry and mutagenesis studies suggest that phosphorylation of both the repression domain and the chromatin binding domain acts to temporally regulate this process at the appropriate stages during infection.
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Demeulemeester J, De Rijck J, Gijsbers R, Debyser Z. Retroviral integration: Site matters: Mechanisms and consequences of retroviral integration site selection. Bioessays 2015; 37:1202-14. [PMID: 26293289 PMCID: PMC5053271 DOI: 10.1002/bies.201500051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
Here, we review genomic target site selection during retroviral integration as a multistep process in which specific biases are introduced at each level. The first asymmetries are introduced when the virus takes a specific route into the nucleus. Next, by co‐opting distinct host cofactors, the integration machinery is guided to particular chromatin contexts. As the viral integrase captures a local target nucleosome, specific contacts introduce fine‐grained biases in the integration site distribution. In vivo, the established population of proviruses is subject to both positive and negative selection, thereby continuously reshaping the integration site distribution. By affecting stochastic proviral expression as well as the mutagenic potential of the virus, integration site choice may be an inherent part of the evolutionary strategies used by different retroviruses to maximise reproductive success.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonas Demeulemeester
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, Laboratory for Molecular Virology and Drug Discovery, KU Leuven-University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.,Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, Laboratory for Viral Vector Technology and Gene Therapy, KU Leuven-University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.,Department of Chemistry, Laboratory for Biomolecular Modeling, KU Leuven-University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Jan De Rijck
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, Laboratory for Molecular Virology and Drug Discovery, KU Leuven-University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Rik Gijsbers
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, Laboratory for Viral Vector Technology and Gene Therapy, KU Leuven-University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Zeger Debyser
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, Laboratory for Molecular Virology and Drug Discovery, KU Leuven-University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
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