The redox state of cysteines in human immunodeficiency virus type 1 Vif in infected cells and in virions

Zinc binding to the HCCH motif of HIV-1 virion infectivity factor induces a conformational change that mediates protein-protein interactions

Virion infectivity factor (Vif) is an accessory protein encoded by HIV-1 and is critical for viral infection of the host CD4(+) T cell population. Vif induces ubiquitination and subsequent degradation of Apo3G, a cytosolic cytidine deaminase that otherwise targets the retroviral genome. Interaction of Vif with the cellular Cullin5-based E3 ubiquitin ligase requires a conserved BC box and upstream residues that are part of the conserved H-(Xaa)(5)-C-(Xaa)(17-18)-C-(Xaa)(3-5)-H (HCCH) motif. The HCCH motif is involved in stabilizing the Vif-Cullin 5 interaction, but the exact role of the conserved His and Cys residues remains elusive. In this report, we find that full-length HIV-1 Vif, as well as a HCCH peptide, is capable of binding to zinc with high specificity. Zinc binding induces a conformational change that leads to the formation of large protein aggregates. EDTA reversed aggregation and regenerated the apoprotein conformation. Cysteine modification studies with the HCCH peptide suggest that C114 is critical for stabilizing the fold of the apopeptide, and that C133 is located in a solvent-exposed region with no definite secondary structure. Selective alkylation of C133 reduced metal-binding specificity of the HCCH peptide, allowing cobalt to bind with rates comparable to that with zinc. This study demonstrates that the HCCH motif of HIV-1 Vif is a unique metal-binding domain capable of mediating protein-protein interactions in the presence of zinc and adds to a growing list of examples in which metal ion binding induces protein misfolding and/or aggregation.

Selective assembly of HIV-1 Vif-Cul5-ElonginB-ElonginC E3 ubiquitin ligase complex through a novel SOCS box and upstream cysteines

APOBEC3G, which induces hypermutations in newly synthesized viral DNA, is suppressed by HIV-1 Vif, acting through Cul5-ElonginB-ElonginC E3 ubiquitin ligase. We have now characterized a novel SOCS box in HIV-1 Vif that mediates its interaction with ElonginC. In this SOCS box, alanine replaces the consensus cysteine in the previously identified SOCS box. This new motif was necessary but insufficient for interaction with Cul5-ElonginB-ElonginC, as two highly conserved Cys residues outside the SOCS box were required to interact with Cul5 but not ElonginC. Therefore, selective assembly with Cul5 versus Cul2 E3 may require protein interfaces besides the SOCS-box-ElonginC interaction.

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 Vif is efficiently packaged into virions during productive but not chronic infection

Packaging of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 Vif protein into virus particles is mediated through an interaction with viral genomic RNA and results in the association of Vif with the nucleoprotein complex. Despite the specificity of this process, calculations of the amount of Vif packaged have produced vastly different results. Here, we compared the efficiency of packaging of Vif into virions derived from acutely and chronically infected H9 cells. We found that Vif was efficiently packaged into virions from acutely infected cells (60 to 100 copies per virion), while packaging into virions from chronically infected H9 cells was near the limit of detection (four to six copies of Vif per virion). Superinfection by an exogenous Vif-defective virus did not rescue packaging of endogenous Vif expressed in the chronically infected culture. In contrast, exogenous Vif expressed by superinfection of wild-type virus was readily packaged (30 to 40 copies per virion). Biochemical analyses suggest that the differences in the relative packaging efficiencies were not due to gross differences in the steady-state distribution of Vif in chronically or acutely infected cells but are likely due to differences in the relative rates of de novo synthesis of Vif. Despite its low packaging efficiency, endogenously expressed Vif was sufficient to direct the production of viruses with almost wild-type infectivity. The results from our study provide novel insights into the biochemical properties of Vif and offer an explanation for the reported differences regarding Vif packaging.

Intravirion processing of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 Vif protein by the viral protease may be correlated with Vif function

The human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) Vif protein is specifically packaged into virus particles through an interaction with viral genomic RNA in which it associates with the viral nucleoprotein complex. We now demonstrate for the first time that virus-associated Vif is subject to proteolytic processing by the viral protease (Pr). Pr-dependent processing of Vif was observed both in vivo and in vitro. In vivo processing of Vif was cell type independent and evident by the appearance of a 7-kDa processing product, which was restricted to cell-free virus preparations. Processing of Vif required an active viral Pr and was sensitive to Pr inhibitors such as ritonavir. The processing site in Vif was characterized both in vivo and in vitro and mapped to Ala(150). Interestingly, the Vif processing site is located in a domain that is highly conserved among HIV-1, HIV-2, and simian immunodeficiency virus Vif isolates. Mutations at or near the processing site did not affect protein stability or packaging efficiency but had dramatic effects on Vif processing. In general, mutations that markedly increased or decreased the sensitivity of Vif to proteolytic processing severely impaired or completely abolished Vif function. In contrast, mutations at the same site that had little or no effect on processing efficiency also did not influence Vif function. None of the mutants affected the ability of the virus to replicate in permissive cell lines. Our data suggest that mutations in Vif that cause a profound change in the sensitivity to Pr-dependent processing also severely impaired Vif function, suggesting that intravirion processing of Vif is important for the production of infectious viruses.

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 Vif protein is packaged into the nucleoprotein complex through an interaction with viral genomic RNA

The human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) Vif protein plays a critical role in the production of infectious virions. Previous studies have demonstrated the presence of small amounts of Vif in virus particles. However, Vif packaging was assumed to be nonspecific, and its functional significance has been questioned. We now report that packaging of Vif is dependent on the packaging of viral genomic RNA in both permissive and restrictive HIV-1 target cells. Mutations in the nucleocapsid zinc finger domains that abrogate packaging of viral genomic RNA abolished packaging of Vif. Additionally, an RNA packaging-defective virus exhibited significantly reduced packaging of Vif. Finally, deletion of a putative RNA-interacting domain in Vif abolished packaging of Vif into virions. Virion-associated Vif was resistant to detergent extraction and copurified with components of the viral nucleoprotein complex and functional reverse transcription complexes. Thus, Vif is specifically packaged into virions as a component of the viral nucleoprotein complex. Our data suggest that the specific association of Vif with the viral nucleoprotein complex might be functionally significant and could be a critical requirement for infectivity of viruses produced from restrictive host cells.

Characterization of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 vif gene in long-term asymptomatic individuals

We have determined the sequence of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) vif genes from a cohort of 42 long-term nonprogressors (LTNP) and compared these sequences to those of 8 late progressors. The coding potential of the vif open reading frame directly derived by nested PCR from uncultured peripheral blood mononuclear cell DNA was conserved in all 50 individuals. The nucleotide distances between vif sequences were not significantly different between LTNP and late progressors, indicating similar selections of viruses within both types of long-term HIV-1-infected subjects. However, a statistically significant correlation between an amino acid signature at position 132 of Vif and the viral load was found within LTNP. Namely, amino acid Ser was associated with low viral load and amino acid Arg with high viral load. This signature was also observed when LTNP with low viral load were compared to progressors. The Ser132 signature was introduced in place of Arg132 present in the HIV-1 YU-2 Vif prototype into chimeric viruses to assess the impact of Vif signature on the virus. While the replication properties in the SupT1 cell line were unmodified, the mutagenized virus revealed a fivefold decreased replication in activated PBMC, suggesting a possible role of this Vif signature for viral production in vivo.