Cell-type-specific proteome and interactome: using HIV-1 Tat as a test case

Effect of transcription inhibition and generation of suppressive viral non-coding RNAs

Background

HIV-1 patients receiving combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) survive infection but require life-long adherence at high expense. In chronic cART-treated patients with undetectable viral titers, cell-associated viral RNA is still detectable, pointing to low-level viral transcriptional leakiness. To date, there are no FDA-approved drugs against HIV-1 transcription. We have previously shown that F07#13, a third generation Tat peptide mimetic with competitive activity against Cdk9/T1-Tat binding sites, inhibits HIV-1 transcription in vitro and in vivo.

Results

Here, we demonstrate that increasing concentrations of F07#13 (0.01, 0.1, 1 µM) cause a decrease in Tat levels in a dose-dependent manner by inhibiting the Cdk9/T1-Tat complex formation and subsequent ubiquitin-mediated Tat sequestration and degradation. Our data indicate that complexes I and IV contain distinct patterns of ubiquitinated Tat and that transcriptional inhibition induced by F07#13 causes an overall reduction in Tat levels. This reduction may be triggered by F07#13 but ultimately is mediated by TAR-gag viral RNAs that bind suppressive transcription factors (similar to 7SK, NRON, HOTAIR, and Xist lncRNAs) to enhance transcriptional gene silencing and latency. These RNAs complex with PRC2, Sin3A, and Cul4B, resulting in epigenetic modifications. Finally, we observed an F07#13-mediated decrease of viral burden by targeting the R region of the long terminal repeat (HIV-1 promoter region, LTR), promoting both paused polymerases and increased efficiency of CRISPR/Cas9 editing in infected cells. This implies that gene editing may be best performed under a repressed transcriptional state.

Conclusions

Collectively, our results indicate that F07#13, which can terminate RNA Polymerase II at distinct sites, can generate scaffold RNAs, which may assemble into specific sets of “RNA Machines” that contribute to gene regulation. It remains to be seen whether these effects can also be seen in various clades that have varying promoter strength, mutant LTRs, and in patient samples.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s12977-019-0475-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

HIV-1 Tat protein induces DNA damage in human peripheral blood B-lymphocytes via mitochondrial ROS production

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is associated with B-cell malignancies in patients though HIV-1 is not able to infect B-cells. The rate of B-cell lymphomas in HIV-infected individuals remains high even under the combined antiretroviral therapy (cART) that reconstitutes the immune function. Thus, the contribution of HIV-1 to B-cell oncogenesis remains enigmatic. HIV-1 induces oxidative stress and DNA damage in infected cells via multiple mechanisms, including viral Tat protein. We have detected elevated levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and DNA damage in B-cells of HIV-infected individuals. As Tat is present in blood of infected individuals and is able to transduce cells, we hypothesized that it could induce oxidative DNA damage in B-cells promoting genetic instability and malignant transformation. Indeed, incubation of B-cells isolated from healthy donors with purified Tat protein led to oxidative stress, a decrease in the glutathione (GSH) levels, DNA damage and appearance of chromosomal aberrations. The effects of Tat relied on its transcriptional activity and were mediated by NF-κB activation. Tat stimulated oxidative stress in B-cells mostly via mitochondrial ROS production which depended on the reverse electron flow in Complex I of respiratory chain. We propose that Tat-induced oxidative stress, DNA damage and chromosomal aberrations are novel oncogenic factors favoring B-cell lymphomas in HIV-1 infected individuals.

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B-cells of HIV-infected individuals exhibit elevated levels of oxidative stress, DNA damage and chromosomal aberrations.

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Purified HIV-1 Tat protein reproduces this effect and induces oxidative stress and DNA damage in B-cells.

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HIV-1 Tat induces mitochondrial oxidative stress and activates NF-kB in B-cells.

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This condition increases the risk of developing chromosomal abnormalities and translocations.

The Road Less Traveled: HIV's Use of Alternative Routes through Cellular Pathways

Pathogens such as HIV-1, with their minimalist genomes, must navigate cellular networks and rely on hijacking and manipulating the host machinery for successful replication. Limited overlap of host factors identified as vital for pathogen replication may be explained by considering that pathogens target, rather than specific cellular factors, crucial cellular pathways by targeting different, functionally equivalent, protein-protein interactions within that pathway. The ability to utilize alternative routes through cellular pathways may be essential for pathogen survival when restricted and provide flexibility depending on the viral replication stage and the environment in the infected host. In this minireview, we evaluate evidence supporting this notion, discuss specific HIV-1 examples, and consider the molecular mechanisms which allow pathogens to flexibly exploit different routes.

A mutant tat protein inhibits HIV-1 reverse transcription by targeting the reverse transcription complex

Previously, we reported that a mutant of Tat referred to as Nullbasic inhibits HIV-1 reverse transcription although the mechanism of action is unknown. Here we show that Nullbasic is a reverse transcriptase (RT) binding protein that targets the reverse transcription complex rather than directly inhibiting RT activity. An interaction between Nullbasic and RT was observed by using coimmunoprecipitation and pulldown assays, and a direct interaction was measured by using a biolayer interferometry assay. Mixtures of recombinant 6×His-RT and Nullbasic-FLAG-V5-6×His at molar ratios of up to 1:20,000 did not inhibit RT activity in standard homopolymer primer template assays. An analysis of virus made by cells that coexpressed Nullbasic showed that Nullbasic copurified with virus particles, indicating that it was a virion protein. In addition, analysis of reverse transcription complexes (RTCs) isolated from cells infected with wild type or Nullbasic-treated HIV-1 showed that Nullbasic reduced the levels of viral DNA in RTC fractions. In addition, a shift in the distribution of viral DNA and CAp24 to less-dense non-RTC fractions was observed, indicating that RTC activity from Nullbasic-treated virus was impaired. Further analysis showed that viral cores isolated from Nullbasic-treated HIV undergo increased disassembly in vitro compared to untreated HIV-1. To our knowledge, this is the first description of an antiviral protein that inhibits reverse transcription by targeting the RTC and affecting core stability.

IMPORTANCE

HIV-1 infection is treated by using combinations of antiretroviral drugs that target independent steps of virus replication. A newly described antiviral protein called Nullbasic can also inhibit a combination of different steps in virus replication (transcription, reverse transcription, and Rev-mediated viral mRNA transport), although the precise mechanism of action is unknown. This study shows that Nullbasic can inhibit reverse transcription by binding to the viral enzyme called reverse transcriptase, which results in accelerated uncoating of the viral core and instability of the viral apparatus called the reverse transcription complex (RTC). This unique antiviral activity may inform development of other RTC inhibitors, as well as providing a unique investigative tool for dissecting the RTC cellular composition.

Tat engagement of p38 MAP kinase and IRF7 pathways leads to activation of interferon-stimulated genes in antigen-presenting cells

As a result of its interaction with transcription factors, HIV type 1 (HIV-1) Tat can modulate the expression of both HIV and cellular genes. In antigen-presenting cells Tat induces the expression of a subset of interferon (IFN)-stimulated genes (ISGs) in the absence of IFNs. We investigated the genome-wide Tat association with promoters in immature dendritic cells and in monocyte-derived macrophages. Among others, Tat associated with the MAP2K6, MAP2K3, and IRF7 promoters that are functionally part of IL-1 and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathways. The association correlated with their increased gene expression, increased activation of p38 MAPK and of phosphorylated signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 (STAT1), and consequent induction of ISGs. Probing these pathways with RNA interference, pharmacological p38 MAPK inhibition, and in cell lines lacking STAT1s or the type I IFN receptor chain confirmed the role of MAPKKs and IRF7 in Tat-mediated modulation of ISGs and excluded the involvement of IFNs in this modulation. Tat interaction with the 2 MAPKK and IRF7 promoters in HIV-1-infected cells and the resulting persistent activation of ISGs, which include inflammatory cytokines and chemokines, can contribute to the increased immune activation that characterizes HIV infection.

Nucleolar protein trafficking in response to HIV-1 Tat: rewiring the nucleolus

The trans-activator Tat protein is a viral regulatory protein essential for HIV-1 replication. Tat trafficks to the nucleoplasm and the nucleolus. The nucleolus, a highly dynamic and structured membrane-less sub-nuclear compartment, is the site of rRNA and ribosome biogenesis and is involved in numerous cellular functions including transcriptional regulation, cell cycle control and viral infection. Importantly, transient nucleolar trafficking of both Tat and HIV-1 viral transcripts are critical in HIV-1 replication, however, the role(s) of the nucleolus in HIV-1 replication remains unclear. To better understand how the interaction of Tat with the nucleolar machinery contributes to HIV-1 pathogenesis, we investigated the quantitative changes in the composition of the nucleolar proteome of Jurkat T-cells stably expressing HIV-1 Tat fused to a TAP tag. Using an organellar proteomic approach based on mass spectrometry, coupled with Stable Isotope Labelling in Cell culture (SILAC), we quantified 520 proteins, including 49 proteins showing significant changes in abundance in Jurkat T-cell nucleolus upon Tat expression. Numerous proteins exhibiting a fold change were well characterised Tat interactors and/or known to be critical for HIV-1 replication. This suggests that the spatial control and subcellular compartimentaliation of these cellular cofactors by Tat provide an additional layer of control for regulating cellular machinery involved in HIV-1 pathogenesis. Pathway analysis and network reconstruction revealed that Tat expression specifically resulted in the nucleolar enrichment of proteins collectively participating in ribosomal biogenesis, protein homeostasis, metabolic pathways including glycolytic, pentose phosphate, nucleotides and amino acids biosynthetic pathways, stress response, T-cell signaling pathways and genome integrity. We present here the first differential profiling of the nucleolar proteome of T-cells expressing HIV-1 Tat. We discuss how these proteins collectively participate in interconnected networks converging to adapt the nucleolus dynamic activities, which favor host biosynthetic activities and may contribute to create a cellular environment supporting robust HIV-1 production.

Human T-lymphotropic virus proteins and post-translational modification pathways

Cell life from the cell cycle to the signaling transduction and response to stimuli is finely tuned by protein post-translational modifications (PTMs). PTMs alter the conformation, the stability, the localization, and hence the pattern of interactions of the targeted protein. Cell pathways involve the activation of enzymes, like kinases, ligases and transferases, that, once activated, act on many proteins simultaneously, altering the state of the cell and triggering the processes they are involved in. Viruses enter a balanced system and hijack the cell, exploiting the potential of PTMs either to activate viral encoded proteins or to alter cellular pathways, with the ultimate consequence to perpetuate through their replication. Human T-lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) is known to be highly oncogenic and associates with adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma, HTLV-1-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis and other inflammatory pathological conditions. HTLV-1 protein activity is controlled by PTMs and, in turn, viral activity is associated with the modulation of cellular pathways based on PTMs. More knowledge is acquired about the PTMs involved in the activation of its proteins, like Tax, Rex, p12, p13, p30, HTLV-I basic leucine zipper factor and Gag. However, more has to be understood at the biochemical level in order to counteract the associated fatal outcomes. This review will focus on known PTMs that directly modify HTLV-1 components and on enzymes whose activity is modulated by viral proteins.

The 5' UTR of HIV-1 full-length mRNA and the Tat viral protein modulate the programmed -1 ribosomal frameshift that generates HIV-1 enzymes

Translation of the full-length messenger RNA (mRNA) of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) generates the precursor of the viral enzymes via a programmed -1 ribosomal frameshift. Here, using dual-luciferase reporters, we investigated whether the highly structured 5' untranslated region (UTR) of this mRNA, which interferes with translation initiation, can modulate HIV-1 frameshift efficiency. We showed that, when the 5' UTR of HIV-1 mRNA occupies the 5' end of the reporter mRNA, HIV-1 frameshift efficiency is increased about fourfold in Jurkat T-cells, compared with a control dual-luciferase reporter with a short unstructured 5' UTR. This increase was related to an interference with cap-dependent translation initiation by the TAR-Poly(A) region at the 5' end of the messenger. HIV-1 mRNA 5' UTR also contains an internal ribosome entry site (IRES), but we showed that, when the cap-dependent initiation mode is available, the IRES is not used or is weakly used. However, when the ribosomes have to use the IRES to translate the dual-luciferase reporter, the frameshift efficiency is comparable to that of the control dual-luciferase reporter. The decrease in cap-dependent initiation and the accompanying increase in frameshift efficiency caused by the 5' UTR of HIV-1 mRNA is antagonized, in a dose-dependent way, by the Tat viral protein. Tat also stimulates the IRES-dependent initiation and decreases the corresponding frameshift efficiency. A model is presented that accounts for the variations in frameshift efficiency depending on the 5' UTR and the presence of Tat, and it is proposed that a range of frameshift efficiencies is compatible with the virus replication.