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The Ezrin-Radixin-Moesin Family Member Ezrin Regulates Stable Microtubule Formation and Retroviral Infection

Centre for Research in Infectious Diseases, School of Medicine and Medical Science, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland,¹ Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Columbia University, New York, New York 10032²

Received 7 November 2007/ Accepted 19 February 2008

We recently identified the cytoskeletal regulatory protein moesin as a novel gene that inhibits retroviral replication prior to reverse transcription by downregulation of stable microtubule formation. Here, we provide evidence that overexpression of ezrin, another closely related ezrin-radixin-moesin (ERM) family member, also blocks replication of both murine leukemia viruses and human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) in Rat2 fibroblasts before reverse transcription, while knockdown of endogenous ezrin increases the susceptibility of human cells to HIV-1 infection. Together, these results suggest that ERM proteins may be important determinants of retrovirus susceptibility through negative regulation of stable microtubule networks.

Published ahead of print on 27 February 2008.