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Journal of Virology, July 2000, p. 5845-5855, Vol. 74, No. 13
Cell Biology Program, Memorial
Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, and Graduate Program in Cell Biology and
Genetics, Weill Graduate School of Medical Sciences of Cornell
University, New York, New York 10021
Received 14 December 1999/Accepted 29 March 2000
The assembly and budding of lentiviruses, such as human
immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1), are mediated by the Gag protein precursor, but the molecular details of these processes remain poorly
defined. In this study, we have combined pulse-chase techniques with
density gradient centrifugation to identify, isolate, and characterize
sequential kinetic intermediates in the lentivirus assembly process. We
show that newly synthesized HIV-1 Gag rapidly forms cytoplasmic protein
complexes that are resistant to detergent treatment, sensitive to
protease digestion, and degraded intracellularly. A subpopulation of
newly synthesized Gag binds membranes within 5 to 10 min and over
several hours assembles into membrane-bound complexes of increasing
size and/or density that can be resolved on Optiprep density gradients.
These complexes likely represent assembly intermediates because they
are not observed with assembly-defective Gag mutants and can be chased
into extracellular viruslike particles. At steady state, nearly all of
the Gag is present as membrane-bound complexes in various stages of
assembly. The identification of sequential assembly intermediates
provides the first demonstration that HIV-1 particle assembly proceeds
via an ordered process. Assembly intermediates should serve as
attractive targets for the design of antiviral agents that interfere
with the process of particle production.
0022-538X/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Kinetic Analysis of Human Immunodeficiency Virus
Type 1 Assembly Reveals the Presence of Sequential
Intermediates
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: Cell Biology
Program, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, 1275 York Ave., Box
143, New York, NY 10021. Phone: (212) 639-2514. Fax: (212) 717-3317. E-mail: m-resh{at}ski.mskcc.org.
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