Multifaceted activity of HIV Vpr/Vpx proteins: the current view of their virological functions.
Primate immunodeficiency viruses encode viral proteins that are uniquely auxiliary to their growth in host cells. Of these accessory proteins, those designated Vpr and Vpx are least well understood with respect to their functions in the viral replication cycle. Moreover, their assigned roles based on the results in published studies remain controversial. This review summarises current knowledge on human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) Vpr/Vpx proteins, and discusses their functional activities during the viral life cycle in macrophages and T lymphocytes, the two major target cells of HIV infection.
Fujita
Mikako
M
Research Institute for Drug Discovery, School of Pharmacy, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto 862-0973, Japan.
Otsuka
Masami
M
Nomaguchi
Masako
M
Adachi
Akio
A
D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000821:virology; D006678:HIV / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D006801:Humans; D008264:Macrophages / Q000821:virology; D054334:Viral Regulatory and Accessory Proteins / Q000502:physiology*; D054325:vpr Gene Products, Human Immunodeficiency Virus / Q000502:physiology*
C074286:VPX protein, Human immunodeficiency virus 2; D054334:Viral Regulatory and Accessory Proteins; D054325:vpr Gene Products, Human Immunodeficiency Virus; C514912:vpr protein, Human immunodeficiency virus 1