Identification of dominant negative human immunodeficiency virus type 1 Vif mutants that interfere with the functional inactivation of APOBEC3G by virus-encoded Vif

J Virol. 2010 May;84(10):5201-11. doi: 10.1128/JVI.02318-09. Epub 2010 Mar 10.

Abstract

APOBEC3G (A3G) is a host cytidine deaminase that serves as a potent intrinsic inhibitor of retroviral replication. A3G is packaged into human immunodeficiency virus type 1 virions and deaminates deoxycytidine to deoxyuridine on nascent minus-strand retroviral cDNA, leading to hyper-deoxyguanine-to-deoxyadenine mutations on positive-strand cDNA and inhibition of viral replication. The antiviral activity of A3G is suppressed by Vif, a lentiviral accessory protein that prevents encapsidation of A3G. In this study, we identified dominant negative mutants of Vif that interfered with the ability of wild-type Vif to inhibit the encapsidation and antiviral activity of A3G. These mutants were nonfunctional due to mutations in the highly conserved HCCH and/or SOCS box motifs, which are required for assembly of a functional Cul5-E3 ubiquitin ligase complex. Similarly, mutation or deletion of a PPLP motif, which was previously reported to be important for Vif dimerization, induced a dominant negative phenotype. Expression of dominant negative Vif counteracted the Vif-induced reduction of intracellular A3G levels, presumably by preventing Vif-induced A3G degradation. Consequently, dominant negative Vif interfered with wild-type Vif's ability to exclude A3G from viral particles and reduced viral infectivity despite the presence of wild-type Vif. The identification of dominant negative mutants of Vif presents exciting possibilities for the design of novel antiviral strategies.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Intramural

MeSH terms

  • APOBEC-3G Deaminase
  • Cell Line
  • Cytidine Deaminase / antagonists & inhibitors*
  • HIV-1 / genetics
  • HIV-1 / immunology*
  • HIV-1 / pathogenicity*
  • Humans
  • Microbial Viability
  • Mutant Proteins / genetics
  • Mutant Proteins / metabolism*
  • Mutation*
  • Virulence Factors / genetics
  • Virulence Factors / metabolism*
  • vif Gene Products, Human Immunodeficiency Virus / genetics
  • vif Gene Products, Human Immunodeficiency Virus / metabolism*

Substances

  • Mutant Proteins
  • Virulence Factors
  • vif Gene Products, Human Immunodeficiency Virus
  • vif protein, Human immunodeficiency virus 1
  • APOBEC-3G Deaminase
  • APOBEC3G protein, human
  • Cytidine Deaminase