Ahmad Khorchid

Incorporation of Lysyl-tRNA Synthetase into Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1

ABSTRACT During human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) assembly, tRNALys isoacceptors are selectively incorporated into virions and tRNA 3 Lys is used as the primer for reverse transcription. We show herein that the tRNALys-binding protein, lysyl-tRNA synthetase (LysRS), is also selectively packaged into HIV-1. The viral precursor protein Pr55 gag alone will package LysRS into Pr55 gag particles, independently of tRNALys. With the additional presence of the viral precursor protein Pr160 gag-pol , tRNALys and LysRS are both packaged into the particle. While the predominant cytoplasmic LysRS has an apparent M r of 70,000, viral LysRS associated with tRNALys packaging is shorter, with an apparent M r of 63,000. The truncation occurs independently of viral protease and might be required to facilitate interactions involved in the selective packaging and genomic placement of primer tRNA 3 Lys .

Rapid Localization of Gag/GagPol Complexes to Detergent-Resistant Membrane during the Assembly of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1

ABSTRACT During human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) assembly in HIV-1-transfected COS7 cells, almost all steady-state Gag/Gag and Gag/GagPol complexes are membrane bound. However, exposure to 1% Triton X-100 gives results indicating that while all Gag/GagPol complexes remain associated with the detergent-resistant membrane (DRM), only 30% of Gag/Gag complexes are associated with the DRM. Analysis of the localization of newly synthesized Gag/Gag and Gag/GagPol to the membrane indicates that after a 10-min pulse with radioactive [35S]Cys-[35S]Met, all newly synthesized Gag/GagPol is found at the DRM. Only 30% of newly synthesized Gag/Gag moves to the membrane, and at 0 min of chase, only 38% of this membrane-bound Gag/Gag is associated with the DRM. During the first 30 min of chase, most membrane-bound Gag/Gag moves to the DRM, while between 30 and 60 min of chase, there is a significant decrease in membrane-bound Gag/Gag and Gag/GagPol. Since the localization of newly synthesized Gag/Gag to the DRM and the interaction of GagPol with Gag both depend upon Gag multimerization, the rapid localization of GagPol to the DRM probably reflects the interaction of all newly synthesized GagPol with the first newly synthesized polymeric Gag to associate with the DRM.

Role of RNA in Facilitating Gag/Gag-Pol Interaction

ABSTRACT We have examined the influence of RNA upon the interaction of Gag-Pol with Gag during human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) assembly. COS7 cells were transfected with protease-negative HIV-1 proviral DNA, and Gag/Gag-Pol complexes were detected by coimmunoprecipitation with anti-integrase. In COS7 cells, Gag/Gag-Pol is found almost entirely in pelletable, membrane-bound complexes. Exposure of cells to 1% Triton X-100 releases Gag/Gag-Pol from bulk membrane, but the complexes remain pelletable. The role of RNA in facilitating the interaction between Gag and Gag-Pol was examined in these bulk membrane-free, pelletable complexes. The specific presence of viral genomic RNA is not required to maintain the Gag/Gag-Pol interaction, but some type of RNA is, since exposure to RNase destabilized the Gag/Gag-Pol complex. When present only in Gag, the nucleocapsid mutation R7R10K11S, which inhibits Gag binding to RNA, inhibits the formation of both Gag and Gag/Gag-Pol complexes. When present only in Gag-Pol, this mutation has no effect upon complex formation. This result indicates that Gag-Pol may not interact directly with RNA but rather requires RNA-facilitated Gag multimerization for its interaction with Gag.

Roles of Pr55gag and NCp7 in tRNA3Lys Genomic Placement and the Initiation Step of Reverse Transcription in Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1

ABSTRACT To study in vivo tRNA3 Lys genomic placement and the initiation step of reverse transcription in human immunodeficiency virus type 1, total viral RNA isolated from either wild-type or protease-negative (PR−) virus was used as the source of primer tRNA3 Lys/genomic RNA templates in an in vitro reverse transcription assay. At low dCTP concentrations, both the rate and extent of the first nucleotide incorporated into tRNA3 Lys, dCTP, were lower with PR− than with wild-type total viral RNA. Transient in vitro exposure of either type of primer/template RNA to NCp7 increased PR− dCTP incorporation to wild-type levels but did not change the level of wild-type dCTP incorporation. Exposure of either primer/template to Pr55 gag had no effect on initiation. These results indicate that while Pr55 gag is sufficient for tRNA3 Lys placement onto the genome, exposure of this complex to mature NCp7 is required for optimum tRNA3 Lys placement and initiation of reverse transcription.

Critical Role of Helix 4 of HIV-1 Capsid C-terminal Domain in Interactions with Human Lysyl-tRNA Synthetase

Human tRNALys3 is used as the primer for human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) reverse transcription. HIV-1 Gag and GagPol, as well as host cell factor lysyl-tRNA synthetase (LysRS), are required for specific packaging of tRNALys into virions. Gag alone is sufficient for packaging of LysRS, and these two proteins have been shown to interact in vitro with an equilibrium binding constant of ∼310 nm. The capsid (CA) domain of Gag binds to LysRS with a similar affinity as full-length Gag. In this work, we report further characterization of the interaction between HIV-1 CA and human LysRS using truncation constructs and point mutations in the putative interaction helices. Fluorescence anisotropy binding measurements reveal that a LysRS variant lacking the N-terminal 219 residues still displays high affinity binding to CA. The CA C-terminal domain (CTD) is also sufficient for binding to LysRS. Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy studies using 15N-labeled CA-CTD reveal chemical shift perturbations of residues in and proximal to helix 4 of CA-CTD upon LysRS binding. A synthetic peptide that includes helix 4 binds to LysRS with high affinity, whereas peptides derived from the other three helical domains of CA-CTD do not. Alanine-scanning mutagenesis studies targeting residues in the helix 4 region support a direct interaction between this domain of CA-CTD and LysRS. The high resolution mapping studies reported here will facilitate future work aimed at disrupting the Gag-LysRS interaction, which represents a novel anti-viral strategy.