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Journal of Virology, June 2000, p. 5424-5431, Vol. 74, No. 12
0022-538X/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Efficient DNA Transfection Mediated by the C-Terminal Domain of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Viral Protein R

Antoine Kichler,1,* Jean-Christophe Pages,1,dagger Christian Leborgne,1 Sabine Druillennec,2 Christine Lenoir,2 Dominique Coulaud,3 Etienne Delain,3 Eric Le Cam,3 Bernard P. Roques,2 and Olivier Danos1

Généthon III, CNRS URA 1923, Evry,1 Département de Pharmacochimie Moléculaire et Structurale, U 266, INSERM U266-CNRS UMR 8600, Paris,2 and Laboratoire de Microscopie Moléculaire et Cellulaire, UMR 8532, CNRS, Institut Gustave Roussy, Villejuif,3 France

Received 17 December 1999/Accepted 29 March 2000

Viral protein R (Vpr) of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 is produced late in the virus life cycle and is assembled into the virion through binding to the Gag protein. It is known to play a significant role early in the viral life cycle by facilitating the nuclear import of the preintegration complex in nondividing cells. Vpr is also able to interact with nucleic acids, and we show here that it induces condensation of plasmid DNA. We have explored the possibility of using these properties in DNA transfection experiments. We report that the C-terminal half of the protein (Vpr52-96) mediates DNA transfection in a variety of human and nonhuman cell lines with efficiencies comparable to those of the best-known transfection agents. Compared with polylysine, a standard polycationic transfection reagent, Vpr52-96 was 10- to 1,000-fold more active. Vpr52-96-DNA complexes were able to reach the cell nucleus through a pH-independent mechanism. These observations possibly identify an alternate pathway for DNA transfection.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Généthon III, CNRS URA 1923, 1 rue de l'Internationale, BP 60, F-91002 Evry, France. Phone: 33 (0)1 69 47 10 28. Fax: 33 (0)1 69 47 28 38. E-mail: akich{at}genethon.fr.

dagger Present address: Hôpital Bretonneau, INSERM U316, F-37044 Tours, France.

Journal of Virology, June 2000, p. 5424-5431, Vol. 74, No. 12
0022-538X/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


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