Previous Article | Next Article ![]()
Journal of Virology, May 2000, p. 4877-4881, Vol. 74, No. 10
Center for Neurovirology and Cancer Biology,
Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
19122,1 and Department of Microbiology
and Immunology, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
191072
Received 18 October 1999/Accepted 17 February 2000
The 96-amino-acid-long human immunodeficiency virus type 1 virion-encoded accessory protein Vpr is of particular interest, as this
protein, which is found in association with viral particles, can exert
a regulatory effect on both virus replication and host cell function.
Evidently, Vpr, through interaction with several host regulatory
proteins, can modulate transcription from the viral long terminal
repeat promoter. Expression of Vpr in cells results in deregulation of
cell proliferation during the cell cycle pathway at the G2
stage. Vpr has unique structural features consisting of multiple
functional domains. In this study, we have focused on the
leucine/isoleucine-rich domain near the carboxyl terminus of Vpr at
residue 73 (arginine) and have demonstrated that alterations at this
residue result in ablation of transcriptional activity of Vpr and its
ability to block cell cycle events at the G2 stage.
Interestingly, substitution mutations at R73 have resulted in a peptide
with dominant negative activities on wild-type functions in
transcription and host proliferation events. Results from in vitro and
in vivo protein-protein interaction studies have revealed that
functionally inactive mutant Vpr can be associated with wild-type
protein, presumably through the N-terminal regions of the protein which
have been shown to be important for Vpr oligomerization. Thus, it is
likely that complexation of the mutant Vpr with wild-type protein
functionally inactivates Vpr. The importance of these findings in light
of the development of therapeutic strategies is discussed.
0022-538X/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Transdominant Activity of Human Immunodeficiency
Virus Type 1 Vpr with a Mutation at Residue R73
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: Center for
Neurovirology and Cancer Biology, Temple University, 1900 N. 12th St.,
Philadelphia, PA 19122. Phone: (215) 204-0678. Fax: (215)
204-0679. E-mail: ashohreh{at}astro.temple.edu.
This article has been cited by other articles:
Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology. For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»