title: Conformational behaviour of the active and inactive forms of the nucleocapsid NCp7 of HIV-1 studied by 1H NMR.
abstract: The nucleocapsid protein NCp7 of the human immunodeficiency virus type I (HIV-1) is a 72 amino acid peptide containing two zinc fingers of the type CX2CX4HX4C linked by a short basic sequence 29RAPRKKG35. NCp7 was shown to activate in vitro both viral RNA dimerization and replication primer tRNA(Lys,3) annealing to the initiation site of reverse transcription. In order to clarify the possible structural role of the zinc fingers in the various functions of NCp7, complete sequence specific 1H NMR assignment of the entire protein was achieved by two-dimensional NMR experiments. Moreover, to characterize the role of the peptide linker in NCp7 folding, a synthetic analogue with an inversion of Pro31 configuration was studied by NMR and fluorescence techniques. Several long range NOEs implying amino acid protons from the folded zinc fingers and the spacer, such as Ala25 and Trp37, Phe16 and Trp37, Arg32 and Trp37, Lys33 and Trp37, Cys18 and Lys33 disappeared in the D-Pro31 (12-53)NCp7, confirming the spatial proximity of the two CCHC boxes observed in the (13-51)NCp7. This was also confirmed by iodide fluorescence quenching experiments. The N and C-terminal parts of NCp7 displayed a large flexibility except for two short sequences Tyr56 to Gly58 and Tyr64 to Gly66, which seemed to oscillate between random-coil and helical conformations. The biological relevance of the structural characteristics of NCp7 was studied in vitro and in vivo. Substitution of Pro31 by D-Pro31 in the active (13-64)NCp7 peptide led to a severe reduction of dimerization in vitro. Moreover, site-directed mutagenesis substituting Leu for Pro31 resulted in the formation of non-infectious and immature viral particles. These results suggest that the spatial proximity of the zinc fingers induced by the peptide linker, plays a critical role in encapsidation of genomic RNA and morphogenesis of HIV-1 infectious particles.
authors.affiliation: Département de Pharmacochimie Moléculaire et Structurale INSERM U266, CNRS URA D 1500, Paris, France.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Morellet
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: de Rocquigny
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Mély
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Jullian
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Déméné
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ottmann
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gérard
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Darlix
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Fournie-Zaluski
authors.forename: B P
authors.initials: BP
authors.lastname: Roques
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001665:Binding Sites; D002213:Capsid / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D036022:Capsid Proteins; D002460:Cell Line; D003196:Computer Graphics; D015683:Gene Products, gag / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D006859:Hydrogen; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy / Q000379:methods; D008958:Models, Molecular; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016297:Mutagenesis, Site-Directed; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000737:chemistry; D011487:Protein Conformation; D017433:Protein Structure, Secondary; D012357:RNA, Transfer, Lys / Q000378:metabolism; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000378:metabolism; D015183:Restriction Mapping; D014162:Transfection; D014764:Viral Proteins; D016335:Zinc Fingers; D054301:gag Gene Products, Human Immunodeficiency Virus
chemical_list: D036022:Capsid Proteins; D015683:Gene Products, gag; C071884:NCP7 protein, Human immunodeficiency virus 1; D010446:Peptide Fragments; D012357:RNA, Transfer, Lys; D012367:RNA, Viral; D014764:Viral Proteins; D054301:gag Gene Products, Human Immunodeficiency Virus; D006859:Hydrogen