Nutrition, HIV, and drug abuse: the molecular basis of a unique role for selenium

HIV-infected injection drug users (IDUs) often suffer from serious nutritional deficiencies. This is a concern because plasma levels of micronutrients such as vitamin B12, zinc, and selenium have been correlated with mortality risk in HIV-positive populations. Injection drug use also increases lipid peroxidation and other indicators of oxidative stress, which, combined with antioxidant deficiencies, can stimulate HIV-1 replication through activation of NF-kappaB transcription factors, while weakening immune defenses. As detailed herein, these prooxidant stimuli can also increase the pathogenic effects of HIV-1 by another mechanism, involving viral selenoproteins. Overlapping the envelope coding region, HIV-1 encodes a truncated glutathione peroxidase (GPx) gene (see #6 in reference list). Sequence analysis and molecular modeling show that this viral GPx (vGPx) module has highly significant structural similarity to known mammalian GPx, with conservation of the catalytic triad of selenocysteine (Sec), glutamine, and tryptophan. In addition to other functions, HIV-1 vGPx may serve as a negative regulator of proviral transcription, by acting as an NF-kappaB inhibitor (a known property of cellular GPx). Another potential selenoprotein coding function of HIV-1 is associated with the 3' end of the nef gene, which terminates in a conserved UGA (potential Sec) codon in the context of a sequence (Cys-Sec) identical to the C-terminal redox center of thioredoxin reductase, another cellular regulator of NF-kappaB. Thus, in combination with known cellular mechanisms involving Se, viral selenoproteins may represent a unique mechanism by which HIV-1 monitors and exploits an essential micronutrient to optimize its replication relative to the host.

Selenium-dependent glutathione peroxidase modules encoded by RNA viruses

Glutathione peroxidase (GPx) is the prototypical eukaryotic selenoprotein, with the rare amino acid selenocysteine (Sec) at the enzyme active site, encoded by the UGA codon in RNA. A DNA virus, Molluscum contagiosum, has now been shown to encode a functional selenium-dependent GPx enzyme. Using modifications of conventional sequence database searching techniques to locate potential viral GPx modules, combined with structurally guided comparative sequence analysis, we provide compelling evidence that Se-dependent GPx modules are encoded in a number of RNA viruses, including potentially serious human pathogens like HIV-1 and hepatitis C virus, coxsackievirus B3, HIV-2, and measles virus. Analysis of the sequences of multiple viral isolates reveals conservation of the putative GPx-related features, at least within viral subtypes or genotypes, supporting the hypothesis that these are functional GPx modules.

Genomic structures of viral agents in relation to the biosynthesis of selenoproteins

The genomes of both bacteria and eukaryotic organisms are known to encode selenoproteins, using the UGA codon for seleno-cysteine (SeC), and a complex cotranslational mechanism for SeC incorporation into polypeptide chains, involving RNA stem-loop structures. These common features and similar codon usage strongly suggest that this is an ancient evolutionary development. However, the possibility that some viruses might also encode selenoproteins remained unexplored until recently. Based on an analysis of the genomic structure of the human immunodeficiency virus HIV-1, we demonstrated that several regions overlapping known HIV genes have the potential to encode selenoproteins (Taylor et al. [31], J. Med. Chem. 37, 2637-2654 [1994]). This is provocative in the light of overwhelming evidence of a role for oxidative stress in AIDS pathogenesis, and the fact that a number of viral diseases have been linked to selenium (Se) deficiency, either in humans or by in vitro and animal studies. These include HIV-AIDS, hepatitis B linked to liver disease and cancer, Coxsackie virus B3, Keshan disease, and the mouse mammary tumor virus (MMTV), against which Se is a potent chemoprotective agent. There are also established biochemical mechanisms whereby extreme Se deficiency can induce a proclotting or hemorrhagic effect, suggesting that hemorrhagic fever viruses should also be examined for potential virally encoded selenoproteins. In addition to the RNA stem-loop structures required for SeC insertion at UGA codons, genomic structural features that may be required for selenoprotein synthesis can also include ribosomal frameshift sites and RNA pseudoknots if the potential selenoprotein module overlaps with another gene, which may prove to be the rule rather than the exception in viruses. One such pseudoknot that we predicted in HIV-1 has now been verified experimentally; a similar structure can be demonstrated in precisely the same location in the reverse transcriptase coding region of hepatitis B virus. Significant new findings reported here include the existence of highly distinctive glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px)-related sequences in Coxsackie B viruses, new theoretical data related to a previously proposed potential selenoprotein gene overlapping the HIV protease coding region, and further evidence in support of a novel frameshift site in the HIV nef gene associated with a well-conserved UGA codon in the 1-reading frame.

A basis for new approaches to the chemotherapy of AIDS: novel genes in HIV-1 potentially encode selenoproteins expressed by ribosomal frameshifting and termination suppression

Several previously unnoticed genes in the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1), potentially encoding selenoproteins, have been discovered by analyzing the genomic RNA structure and its relation to novel open reading frames. We have found a number of new potential RNA pseudoknots, including one in the long terminal repeat, several that coincide with highly conserved enzyme active site sequences in the pol coding region, and one in the env coding region. These pseudoknots can potentially direct the synthesis of selenocysteine (SeC) containing--1 frameshift fusion proteins. This is possible because we have found potential SeC insertion sequences (SECIS) in the RNA of HIV and other retroviruses; such structures are known to be necessary and sufficient for the incorporation of SeC at UGA "stop" codons anywhere in a eukaryotic mRNA. In several locations, UGA codons in the -1 reading frame are highly conserved across a broad spectrum of primate immunodeficiency viruses. Due to the degeneracy of the genetic code, this conservation cannot be explained by evolutionary selection of the pol gene protein sequence alone. Such observations, combined with the conservation of the associated reading frames, strongly suggest that these are real genes, and thus that the pseudoknots are also real. A protease pseudoknot-directed -1 frameshift fusion protein contains a highly conserved SeC codon and has significant similarities to a number of DNA binding proteins, including papillomavirus E2 proteins, suggesting it may be a virally encoded repressor of HIV transcription when cleaved by protease from the rest of the gag-pol gene product. A reverse transcriptase (RT) frameshift fusion protein replaces the RT active site with a highly conserved SeC-containing module. An integrase frameshift fusion protein contains the N-terminal integrase DNA-binding domain and a potential ATP-binding "GKS" motif; it has significant similarities to several helicases, but no SeC codons. A potential frameshift fusion protein from env has one SeC codon, but not in a highly conserved position. SeC incorporation could extend the nef gene product by 33 residues through the C-terminal UGA codon without frameshifting, potentially leading to substantial SeC utilization in infected cells.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)