title: APOBEC-1 and AID are nucleo-cytoplasmic trafficking proteins but APOBEC3G cannot traffic.
abstract: Human APOBEC3G (hA3G) is a member of the APOBEC-1 related protein (ARP) family of cytidine deaminases. hA3G functions as a natural defense against endogenous retrotransposons and a multitude of retroviruses, most notably human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1). Nothing is known about the cellular function of hA3G, however, upon HIV-1 infection hA3G functions as an antiviral factor by mutating viral single-stranded DNA during reverse transcription. Whereas homologous deaminases such as APOBEC-1 and AID act on RNA and DNA, respectively, in the cell nucleus, hA3G mutagenic activity appears to be restricted to the cytoplasm. We demonstrate that hA3G is not a nucleo-cytoplasmic shuttling protein like APOBEC-1 and AID, but is strongly retained in the cytoplasm through a mechanism that involves both the N and C-terminal regions of the protein.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Box 712, University of Rochester, 601 Elmwood Avenue, Rochester, NY 14642, USA.
authors.forename: Ryan P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Bennett
authors.forename: Elie
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Diner
authors.forename: Mark P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Sowden
authors.forename: Joshua A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Lees
authors.forename: Joseph E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Wedekind
authors.forename: Harold C
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Smith
mesh_terms: D000071479:APOBEC-1 Deaminase; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000378:metabolism*; D003564:Cytidine Deaminase / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D003593:Cytoplasm / Q000378:metabolism*; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D007930:Leucine / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D021381:Protein Transport; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D000098830:AICDA (Activation-Induced Cytidine Deaminase)
chemical_list: D000098830:AICDA (Activation-Induced Cytidine Deaminase); D000071479:APOBEC-1 Deaminase; C000605089:APOBEC1 protein, human; D003564:Cytidine Deaminase; D007930:Leucine