Alain Doglio

Secreted phospholipases A2, a new class of HIV inhibitors that block virus entry into host cells

Mammalian and venom secreted phospholipases A2 (sPLA2s) have been associated with a variety of biological effects. Here we show that several sPLA2s protect human primary blood leukocytes from the replication of various macrophage and T cell–tropic HIV-1 strains. Inhibition by sPLA2s results neither from a virucidal effect nor from a cytotoxic effect on host cells, but it involves a more specific mechanism. sPLA2s have no effect on virus binding to cells nor on syncytia formation, but they prevent the intracellular release of the viral capsid protein, suggesting that sPLA2s block viral entry into cells before virion uncoating and independently of the coreceptor usage. Various inhibitors and catalytic products of sPLA2 have no effect on HIV-1 infection, suggesting that sPLA2 catalytic activity is not involved in the antiviral effect. Instead, the antiviral activity appears to involve a specific interaction of sPLA2s to host cells. Indeed, of 11 sPLA2s from venom and mammalian tissues assayed, 4 venom sPLA2s were found to be very potent HIV-1 inhibitors (ID50 < 1 nM) and also to bind specifically to host cells with high affinities (K0.5 < 1 nM). Although mammalian pancreatic group IB and inflammatory-type group IIA sPLA2s were inactive against HIV-1 replication, our results could be of physiological interest, as novel sPLA2s are being characterized in humans.

Coupling of growth arrest and expression of early markers during adipose conversion of preadipocyte cell lines

After growth arrest at the entry of the S phase of the cell cycle, Ob1771 and 3T3-F442A cells, but not 3T3-C2 cells, accumulate lipoprotein lipase and pOb24 mRNA that are early markers of adipose conversion. Removal of the single- or double-thymidine block when cultured cells are present at low density leads first to DNA synthesis and growth resumption, then to a continuous proliferation and a rapid disappearance of these markers. By contrast, growth-arrested Ob1771 cells reinoculated at high density undergo a single round of cell division, maintain high levels of early marker(s) and acquire with time both glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase and lipids. Thus, depending upon the conditions in culture, growth-arrested cells can undergo either a dedifferentiation leading to a loss of early markers or a terminal differentiation leading to the acquisition of late markers.

Regulation of gene expression by insulin in adipose cells: opposite effects on adipsin and glycerophosphate dehydrogenase genes

Insulin is known to play the role of a positive effector both in vitro on the adipose conversion process and in vivo on the fatty acid synthesis and esterification processes in adipose tissue. The effects of insulin on the expression of two genes activated during adipose conversion, glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GPDH) and adipsin genes, have been investigated in 3T3 F442A adipose cells. Within a physiological range of concentrations, insulin exerts opposite effects on the levels of GPDH (EC50 approximately 0.2 nM) and adipsin (EC50 approximately 1 nM) mRNAs. Its negative effect on the abundance of adipsin mRNA involves primarily a rapid inhibition of the transcriptional rate (less than 2 h). Its positive effect on the abundance of GPDH mRNA is due to a stimulation of the transcriptional rate accompanied by a delayed stabilization of GPDH mRNA. In addition, insulin exerts a specific effect on the length of the poly(A) tract of the adipsin mRNA. These results show that a single mechanism for the regulation of adipose-related genes by insulin can be excluded but rather suggest a complex phenomenon in which various levels of regulation take place.

Expression of the phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase gene and its insulin regulation during differentiation of preadipose cell lines

The adipose conversion of Ob1771 and 3T3-F442A preadipose cells is accompanied by the expression of the phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) gene. The PEPCK mRNA is absent from growing, undifferentiated Ob1771 and 3T3-F442A cells as well as from non-differentiating 3T3-C2 cells. It is present in differentiated Ob1771 and 3T3-F442A cells as well as in liver, kidney and white adipose tissue from mouse. Transcriptional run-off measurements in nuclei isolated from undifferentiated and differentiated Ob1771 and 3T3-F442A cells reveal that the PEPCK gene transcription is activated during differentiation. Studies of the time course of changes indicate that the emergence of PEPCK mRNA takes place in parallel to mRNA encoding for a 28 kDa protein (28 K mRNA) but later than that encoding for glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GPDH mRNA). Insulin leads to an increase in the content of PEPCK and GPDH mRNAs with half-maximally effective concentrations of 0.5 and 5 nM for GPDH mRNA and PEPCK mRNA, respectively. Thus, in contrast to rat hepatoma cells, insulin exerts in adipose cells a positive regulation on the expression of the PEPCK gene.

T cells chronically infected with HIV do not contain sufficient Nef to promote CD4 downmodulation in the absence of envelope-mediated effects.

Among HIV viral proteins, envelope glycoproteins and Nef have been both suggested to participate in CD4 downregulation during the course of HIV infection. In a previous study, we provided evidence that a mutant form of CD4 that does not bind gp120 was never downregulated in chronically HIV-1- and HIV-2-infected CEM cells. To further investigate the relative effects of Nef or glycoproteins in CD4 downregulation, recombinant vaccinia virus (VV) vectors were used to express high levels of HIV-1 viral proteins in cells expressing both wild-type and mutant CD4. It was demonstrated that during HIV infection, overexpression of Nef, achieved through the VV expression system, was necessary to induce CD4 downregulation in the mutant CD4-expressing cell model. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that Nef-mediated CD4 downregulation depends on the cellular levels of Nef expression. We concluded that during the late stage of viral replication, CD4 downregulation is mostly due to gp120 and not to Nef because of a low level of Nef expression.

On the Functional Diversity of Secreted Phospholipases A2: Cloning of Novel Mammalian Enzymes and HIV-1 Antiviral Properties

Over the past decade, it has become clear that mammalian cells not only express a variety of intracellular phospholipases A2 (PLA2), but also a diverse set of secreted phospholipases A2 (sPLA2s). While PLA2s are generally considered as key enzymes which control the production of lipid mediators, the function of the 10 distinct sPLA2s cloned so far remains ill-defined. Using venom sPLA2s, two types of specific membrane receptors (N and M) have been identified in various mammalian tissues. Of physiological relevance, the M-type receptor can bind with high affinities to several mammalian sPLA2s, making it likely that mammalian sPLA2s are endogenous ligands of the receptors initially identified with venom sPLA2s, and that the physiological function of the mammalian sPLA2s is not limited to their catalytic activity.