JVI Figure table search 04
Home Help [Feedback] [For Subscribers] [Archive] [Search] [Contents]
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Zhang, H.
Right arrow Articles by Sun, Y.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Zhang, H.
Right arrow Articles by Sun, Y.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Journal of Virology, September 2000, p. 8252-8261, Vol. 74, No. 18
0022-538X/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Vif Protein Is an Integral Component of an mRNP Complex of Viral RNA and Could Be Involved in the Viral RNA Folding and Packaging Process

Hui Zhang,* Roger J. Pomerantz, Geethanjali Dornadula, and Yong Sun

Dorrance H. Hamilton Laboratories, Center for Human Virology, Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Jefferson Medical College, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19107

Received 26 May 1999/Accepted 16 June 2000

Virion infectivity factor (Vif) is a protein encoded by human immunodeficiency virus types 1 and 2 (HIV-1 and -2) and simian immunodeficiency virus, plus other lentiviruses, and is essential for viral replication either in vivo or in culture for nonpermissive cells such as peripheral blood lymphoid cells, macrophages, and H9 T cells. Defects in the vif gene affect virion morphology and reverse transcription but not the expression of viral components. It has been shown that Vif colocalizes with Gag in cells and Vif binds to the NCp7 domain of Gag in vitro. However, it seems that Vif is not specifically packaged into virions. The molecular mechanism(s) for Vif remains unknown. In this report, we demonstrate that HIV-1 Vif is an RNA-binding protein and specifically binds to HIV-1 genomic RNA in vitro. Further, Vif binds to HIV-1 RNA in the cytoplasm of virus-producing cells to form a 40S mRNP complex. Coimmunoprecipitation and in vivo UV cross-linking assays indicated that Vif directly interact with HIV-1 RNA in the virus-producing cells. Vif-RNA binding could be displaced by Gag-RNA binding, suggesting that Vif protein in the mRNP complex may mediate viral RNA interaction with HIV-1 Gag precursors. Furthermore, we have demonstrated that these Vif mutants that lose the RNA binding activity in vitro do not support vif-deficient HIV-1 replication in H9 T cells, suggesting that the RNA binding capacity of Vif is important for its function. Further studies regarding Vif-RNA interaction in virus-producing cells will be important for studying the function of Vif in the HIV-1 life cycle.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: The Dorrance H. Hamilton Laboratories, Center for Human Virology, Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Jefferson Medical College, Thomas Jefferson University, 1020 Locust St., Suite 329, Philadelphia, PA 19107. Phone: (215) 503-0163. Fax: (215) 923-1956. E-mail: hui.zhang{at}mail.tju.edu.

Journal of Virology, September 2000, p. 8252-8261, Vol. 74, No. 18
0022-538X/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


This article has been cited by other articles:



Home Help [Feedback] [For Subscribers] [Archive] [Search] [Contents]
J. Bacteriol. Mol. Cell. Biol. Microbiol. Mol. Biol. Rev.
Clin. Vaccine Immunol. ALL ASM JOURNALS

Copyright © 2000 by the American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.