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Journal of Virology, January 2005, p. 1133-1141, Vol. 79, No. 2
0022-538X/05/$08.00+0 doi:10.1128/JVI.79.2.1133-1141.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, and Program in Genetics and Medical Scientist Training Program, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York
Received 27 June 2004/ Accepted 26 August 2004
Nef is a multifunctional virulence factor of primate lentiviruses that facilitates viral replication in the infected host. All known functions of Nef require that it be myristoylated at its N terminus. This reaction is catalyzed by N-myristoyltransferases (NMTs), which transfer myristate from myristoyl coenzyme A (myristoyl-CoA) to the N-terminal glycine of substrate proteins. Two NMT isoforms (NMT-1 and NMT-2) are expressed in mammalian cells. To provide a better mechanistic understanding of Nef function, we used biochemical and microsequencing techniques to isolate and identify Nef-associated proteins. Through these studies, NMT-1 was identified as an abundant Nef-associated protein. The Nef-NMT-1 complex is most likely a transient intermediate of the myristoylation reaction of Nef and is modulated by agents which affect the size of the myristoyl-CoA pool in the cell. We also examined two other proteins that bear an N-terminal myristoylation signal, human immunodeficiency virus type 1 Gag and Hck protein tyrosine kinase, and found that Gag bound preferentially the NMT-2 isoform, while Hck bound mostly to NMT-1. Recognition of different NMT isoforms by these viral and cellular substrate proteins suggests nonoverlapping roles for these enzymes in vivo and reveals a potential for the development of inhibitors that target the myristoylation of specific viral substrates more selectively.
Present address: Pritzker School of Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637.
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