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Journal of Virology, October 2000, p. 8980-8988, Vol. 74, No. 19
0022-538X/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Zinc Finger Structures in the Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Nucleocapsid Protein Facilitate Efficient Minus- and Plus-Strand
Transfer
Jianhui
Guo,1
Tiyun
Wu,1,
Jada
Anderson,1
Bradley F.
Kane,2
Donald G.
Johnson,2
Robert J.
Gorelick,2
Louis E.
Henderson,2 and
Judith
G.
Levin1,*
Laboratory of Molecular Genetics, National Institute of
Child Health and Human Development, Bethesda, Maryland
20892,1 and AIDS Vaccine Program,
SAIC-Frederick, NCI-Frederick Cancer Research and Development
Center, Frederick, Maryland 217022
Received 14 April 2000/Accepted 26 June 2000
The nucleocapsid protein (NC) of human immunodeficiency virus type
1 (HIV-1) has two zinc fingers, each containing the invariant metal ion
binding residues CCHC. Recent reports indicate that mutations in the
CCHC motifs are deleterious for reverse transcription in vivo. To
identify reverse transcriptase (RT) reactions affected by such changes,
we have probed zinc finger functions in NC-dependent RT-catalyzed HIV-1
minus- and plus-strand transfer model systems. Our approach was to
examine the activities of wild-type NC and a mutant in which all six
cysteine residues were replaced by serine (SSHS NC); this mutation
severely disrupts zinc coordination. We find that the zinc fingers
contribute to the role of NC in complete tRNA primer removal from
minus-strand DNA during plus-strand transfer. Annealing of the primer
binding site sequences in plus-strand strong-stop DNA [(+) SSDNA] to
its complement in minus-strand acceptor DNA is not dependent on NC zinc
fingers. In contrast, the rate of annealing of the complementary R
regions in (
) SSDNA and 3' viral RNA during minus-strand transfer is
approximately eightfold lower when SSHS NC is used in place of
wild-type NC. Moreover, unlike wild-type NC, SSHS NC has only a small
stimulatory effect on minus-strand transfer and is essentially unable
to block TAR-induced self-priming from (
) SSDNA. Our results strongly suggest that NC zinc finger structures are needed to unfold highly structured RNA and DNA strand transfer intermediates. Thus, it appears
that in these cases, zinc finger interactions are important components
of NC nucleic acid chaperone activity.
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: Laboratory of
Molecular Genetics, NICHD, Bldg. 6B, Rm. 216, NIH, Bethesda, MD
20892-2780. Phone: (301) 496-1970. Fax: (301) 496-0243. E-mail:
judith_levin{at}nih.gov.

Present address: Laboratory of Molecular Microbiology, National
Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Bethesda, MD
20892.
Journal of Virology, October 2000, p. 8980-8988, Vol. 74, No. 19
0022-538X/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
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