title: Uncoupling human immunodeficiency virus type 1 Gag and Pol reading frames: role of the transframe protein p6* in viral replication.
abstract: Apart from its regulatory role in protease (PR) activation, little is known about the function of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 transframe protein p6* in the virus life cycle. p6* is located between the nucleocapsid and PR domains in the Gag-Pol polyprotein precursor and is cleaved by PR during viral maturation. We have recently reported that the central region of p6* can be extensively mutated without abolishing viral infectivity and replication in vitro. However, mutagenesis of the entire p6*-coding sequence in the proviral context is not feasible without affecting the superimposed frameshift signal or the overlapping p1-p6(gag) sequences. To overcome these limitations, we created a novel NL4-3-derived provirus by displacing the original frameshift signal to the 3' end of the gag gene, thereby uncoupling the p6* gene sequence from the p1-p6(gag) reading frame. The resulting virus (AL) proved to be replication competent in different cell cultures and thus represents an elegant tool for detailed analysis of p6* function. Hence, extensive deletions or substitutions were introduced into the p6* gene sequence of the AL provirus, and effects on particle release, protein processing, and viral infectivity were evaluated. Interestingly, neither the deletion of 63% of all p6* residues nor the partial substitution by a heterologous sequence affected virus growth and infectivity, suggesting that p6* is widely dispensable for viral in vitro replication. However, the insertion of a larger reporter sequence interfered with virus production and maturation, implying that the length or conformation of this spacer region might be critical for p6* function.
authors.affiliation: Molecular Microbiology and Gene Therapy Unit, Institute of Medical Microbiology and Hygiene, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Leiherer
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ludwig
authors.forename: Ralf
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Wagner
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001483:Base Sequence; D002460:Cell Line; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016366:Open Reading Frames; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017384:Sequence Deletion; D014779:Virus Replication; D054301:gag Gene Products, Human Immunodeficiency Virus / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D054302:pol Gene Products, Human Immunodeficiency Virus / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D054301:gag Gene Products, Human Immunodeficiency Virus; C083002:p6 gag protein, Human immunodeficiency virus 1; D054302:pol Gene Products, Human Immunodeficiency Virus