Jason W. Rausch

Dynamic binding orientations direct activity of HIV reverse transcriptase

The reverse transcriptase of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) catalyses a series of reactions to convert the single-stranded RNA genome of HIV into double-stranded DNA for host-cell integration. This task requires the reverse transcriptase to discriminate a variety of nucleic-acid substrates such that active sites of the enzyme are correctly positioned to support one of three catalytic functions: RNA-directed DNA synthesis, DNA-directed DNA synthesis and DNA-directed RNA hydrolysis. However, the mechanism by which substrates regulate reverse transcriptase activities remains unclear. Here we report distinct orientational dynamics of reverse transcriptase observed on different substrates with a single-molecule assay. The enzyme adopted opposite binding orientations on duplexes containing DNA or RNA primers, directing its DNA synthesis or RNA hydrolysis activity, respectively. On duplexes containing the unique polypurine RNA primers for plus-strand DNA synthesis, the enzyme can rapidly switch between the two orientations. The switching kinetics were regulated by cognate nucleotides and non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors, a major class of anti-HIV drugs. These results indicate that the activities of reverse transcriptase are determined by its binding orientation on substrates.

Slide into Action: Dynamic Shuttling of HIV Reverse Transcriptase on Nucleic Acid Substrates

The reverse transcriptase (RT) of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) catalyzes a series of reactions to convert single-stranded viral RNA into double-stranded DNA for host cell integration. This process requires a variety of enzymatic activities, including DNA polymerization, RNA cleavage, strand transfer, and strand displacement synthesis. We used single-molecule fluorescence resonance energy transfer to probe the interactions between RT and nucleic acid substrates in real time. RT was observed to slide on nucleic acid duplexes, rapidly shuttling between opposite termini of the duplex. Upon reaching the DNA 3′ terminus, RT can spontaneously flip into a polymerization orientation. Sliding kinetics were regulated by cognate nucleotides and anti-HIV drugs, which stabilized and destabilized the polymerization mode, respectively. These long-range translocation activities facilitate multiple stages of the reverse transcription pathway, including normal DNA polymerization and strand displacement synthesis.

Synthesis, Activity, and Structural Analysis of Novel α-Hydroxytropolone Inhibitors of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Reverse Transcriptase-Associated Ribonuclease H

The α-hydroxytroplone, manicol (5,7-dihydroxy-2-isopropenyl-9-methyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-benzocyclohepten-6-one), potently and specifically inhibits ribonuclease H (RNase H) activity of human immunodeficiency virus reverse transcriptase (HIV RT) in vitro. However, manicol was ineffective in reducing virus replication in culture. Ongoing efforts to improve the potency and specificity over the lead compound led us to synthesize 14 manicol derivatives that retain the divalent metal-chelating α-hydroxytropolone pharmacophore. These efforts were augmented by a high resolution structure of p66/p51 HIV-1 RT containing the nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI), TMC278 and manicol in the DNA polymerase and RNase H active sites, respectively. We demonstrate here that several modified α-hydroxytropolones exhibit antiviral activity at noncytotoxic concentrations. Inclusion of RNase H active site mutants indicated that manicol analogues can occupy an additional site in or around the DNA polymerase catalytic center. Collectively, our studies will promote future structure-based design of improved α-hydroxytropolones to complement the NRTI and NNRTI currently in clinical use.

Structure-Activity Analysis of Vinylogous Urea Inhibitors of Human Immunodeficiency Virus-Encoded Ribonuclease H

ABSTRACT Vinylogous ureas 2-amino-5,6,7,8-tetrahydro-4H-cyclohepta[b]thiophene-3-carboxamide and N-[3-(aminocarbonyl)-4,5-dimethyl-2-thienyl]-2-furancarboxamide (compounds 1 and 2, respectively) were recently identified to be modestly potent inhibitors of the RNase H activity of HIV-1 and HIV-2 reverse transcriptase (RT). Both compounds shared a 3-CONH2-substituted thiophene ring but were otherwise structurally unrelated, which prevented a precise definition of the pharmacophore. We have therefore examined a larger series of vinylogous ureas carrying amide, amine, and cycloalkane modifications of the thiophene ring of compound 1. While cycloheptane- and cyclohexane-substituted derivatives retained potency, cyclopentane and cyclooctane substitutions eliminated activity. In the presence of a cycloheptane ring, modifying the 2-NH2 or 3-CONH2 functions decreased the potency. With respect to compound 2, vinylogous ureas whose dimethylthiophene ring contained modifications of the 2-NH2 and 3-CONH2 functions were investigated. 2-NH2-modified analogs displayed potency equivalent to or enhanced over that of compound 2, the most active of which, compound 16, reflected intramolecular cyclization of the 2-NH2 and 3-CONH2 groups. Molecular modeling was used to define an inhibitor binding site in the p51 thumb subdomain, suggesting that an interaction with the catalytically conserved His539 of the p66 RNase H domain could underlie inhibition of RNase H activity. Collectively, our data indicate that multiple functional groups of vinylogous ureas contribute to their potencies as RNase H inhibitors. Finally, single-molecule spectroscopy indicates that vinylogous ureas have the property of altering the reverse transcriptase orientation on a model RNA-DNA hybrid mimicking initiation plus-strand DNA synthesis.

Hydrolysis of RNA/DNA hybrids containing nonpolar pyrimidine isosteres defines regions essential for HIV type 1 polypurine tract selection

Both x-ray crystallography and chemical footprinting indicate that bases of the HIV type 1 (HIV-1) polypurine tract (PPT)-containing RNA/DNA hybrid deviate from standard Watson–Crick base pairing. However, the contribution of these structural anomalies to the accuracy of plus-strand primer selection by HIV-1 reverse transcriptase is not immediately clear. To address this issue, DNA templates harboring single and pairwise non-hydrogen-bonding isosteres of cytosine (2-fluoro-4-methylbenzene deoxyribonucleoside) and thymine (2,4-difluoro-5-methylbenzene deoxyribonucleoside) were synthesized and hybridized to PPT-containing RNA primers as a means of locally removing hydrogen bonding and destabilizing paired structure. Cleavage of these hybrids was examined with p66/p51 HIV-1 reverse transcriptase and a mutant carrying an alteration in the p66 RNase H primer shown to specifically impair PPT processing. Analog insertion within the PPT (rG):(dC) and central (rA):(dT) tracts repositioned the RNase H domain such that the RNA/DNA hybrid was cleaved 3–4 bp from the site of insertion, a distance corresponding closely to the spatial separation between the catalytic center and RNase H primer grip. However, PPT processing was significantly impaired when the junction between these tracts was substituted. Substitutions within the upstream (rA):(dT) tract, where maximum distortion had previously been observed, destroyed PPT processing. Collectively, our scanning mutagenesis approach implicates multiple regions of the PPT in the accuracy with which it is excised from (+) U3 RNA and DNA, and also provides evidence for close cooperation between the RNase H primer grip and catalytic center in achieving this cleavage.

Substituting a Conserved Residue of the Ribonuclease H Domain Alters Substrate Hydrolysis by Retroviral Reverse Transcriptase

Alterations to the highly conserved Asp549 of the retroviral ribonuclease H (RNase H) domain were evaluated in the heterodimeric (p66/p51) reverse transcriptases of human immunodeficiency and equine infectious anemia viruses. In addition to the polymerization-dependent and -independent modes of template hydrolysis, mutants were evaluated via their ability to select and extend the 3′ polypurine tract (PPT) primers of these two lentiviruses into (+) strand DNA. Concerted and two-step reactions were designed to evaluate (+) strand priming, the latter of which allows discrimination between selection end extension events. In contrast to enzyme mutated at the highly conserved Glu478, substitution of Asp549 with Asn or Ala reduces, rather than completely eliminates, RNase H activity. When the requirement for RNase H function becomes more stringent, differences in activity are readily evident, most notably in the cleavage events liberating the 5′ terminus of the PPT primer. PPT selection thus appears to represent a specialized form of RNase H activity that is more sensitive to minor structural alterations within this domain and may provide a novel therapeutic target.

Dissecting APOBEC3G substrate specificity by nucleoside analog interference.

The apolipoprotein B mRNA-editing enzyme, catalytic polypeptide-like (APOBEC) cytidine deaminase genes encode a set of enzymes including APOBEC1 (A1), APOBEC2 (A2), APOBEC4 (A4), and APOBEC3A-H (A3A-H). Although each possesses one or more zinc binding motifs conserved among enzymes catalyzing C → U conversion, the functions and substrate specificities of these gene products vary considerably. For example, although two closely related enzymes, A3F and A3G, both restrict HIV-1 infection in strains deficient in virus infectivity factor (vif), A3F selectively deaminates cytosine within 5′-TTCA-3′ motifs in single stranded DNA, whereas A3G targets 5′-CCCA-3′ sequences. In the present study we have used nucleoside analog interference mapping to probe A3G-DNA interactions throughout the enzyme-substrate complex as well as to determine which DNA structural features determine substrate specificity. Our results indicate that multiple components of nucleosides within the consensus sequence are important for substrate recognition by A3G (with base moieties being most critical), whereas deamination interference by analog substitution outside this region is minimal. Furthermore, exocyclic groups in pyrimidines 1–2 nucleotides 5′ of the target cytosine were shown to dictate substrate recognition by A3G, with chemical composition at ring positions 3 and 4 found to be more important than at ring position 5. Taken together, these results provide insights into how the enzyme selects A3G hotspot motifs for deamination as well as which approaches might be best suited for forming a stable, catalytically competent cross-linked A3G-DNA complex for future structural studies.

Reverse Transcriptase in Motion: Conformational Dynamics of Enzyme-Substrate Interactions

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 reverse transcriptase (HIV-1 RT) catalyzes synthesis of integration-competent, double-stranded DNA from the single-stranded viral RNA genome, combining both polymerizing and hydrolytic functions to synthesize approximately 20,000 phosphodiester bonds. Despite a wealth of biochemical studies, the manner whereby the enzyme adopts different orientations to coordinate its DNA polymerase and ribonuclease (RNase) H activities has remained elusive. Likewise, the lower processivity of HIV-1 RT raises the issue of polymerization site targeting, should the enzyme re-engage its nucleic acid substrate several hundred nucleotides from the primer terminus. Although X-ray crystallography has clearly contributed to our understanding of RT-containing nucleoprotein complexes, it provides a static picture, revealing few details regarding motion of the enzyme on the substrate. Recent development of site-specific footprinting and the application of single molecule spectroscopy have allowed us to follow individual steps in the reverse transcription process with significantly greater precision. Progress in these areas and the implications for investigational and established inhibitors that interfere with RT motion on nucleic acid is reviewed here.

The HIV-1 Rev response element (RRE) adopts alternative conformations that promote different rates of virus replication

The HIV Rev protein forms a complex with a 351 nucleotide sequence present in unspliced and incompletely spliced human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) mRNAs, the Rev response element (RRE), to recruit the cellular nuclear export receptor Crm1 and Ran-GTP. This complex facilitates nucleo-cytoplasmic export of these mRNAs. The precise secondary structure of the HIV-1 RRE has been controversial, since studies have reported alternative structures comprising either four or five stem-loops. The published structures differ only in regions that lie outside of the primary Rev binding site. Using in-gel SHAPE, we have now determined that the wt NL4-3 RRE exists as a mixture of both structures. To assess functional differences between these RRE ‘conformers’, we created conformationally locked mutants by site-directed mutagenesis. Using subgenomic reporters, as well as HIV replication assays, we demonstrate that the five stem-loop form of the RRE promotes greater functional Rev/RRE activity compared to the four stem-loop counterpart.

HIV Rev Assembly on the Rev Response Element (RRE): A Structural Perspective

HIV-1 Rev is an ~13 kD accessory protein expressed during the early stage of virus replication. After translation, Rev enters the nucleus and binds the Rev response element (RRE), a ~350 nucleotide, highly structured element embedded in the env gene in unspliced and singly spliced viral RNA transcripts. Rev-RNA assemblies subsequently recruit Crm1 and other cellular proteins to form larger complexes that are exported from the nucleus. Once in the cytoplasm, the complexes dissociate and unspliced and singly-spliced viral RNAs are packaged into nascent virions or translated into viral structural proteins and enzymes, respectively. Rev binding to the RRE is a complex process, as multiple copies of the protein assemble on the RNA in a coordinated fashion via a series of Rev-Rev and Rev-RNA interactions. Our understanding of the nature of these interactions has been greatly advanced by recent studies using X-ray crystallography, small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and single particle electron microscopy as well as biochemical and genetic methodologies. These advances are discussed in detail in this review, along with perspectives on development of antiviral therapies targeting the HIV-1 RRE.