Skip to main content
Journal of Virology logoLink to Journal of Virology
. 1993 Apr;67(4):2266–2275. doi: 10.1128/jvi.67.4.2266-2275.1993

Requirements for incorporation of Pr160gag-pol from human immunodeficiency virus type 1 into virus-like particles.

A J Smith 1, N Srinivasakumar 1, M L Hammarskjöld 1, D Rekosh 1
PMCID: PMC240363  PMID: 8445731

Abstract

The roles of the human immunodeficiency virus precursor polyproteins Pr55gag and Pr160gag-pol in viral core assembly were studied in CMT3-COS cells. To do this, the precursors were expressed separately by using a simian virus 40 late replacement vector system described previously. Consistent with previously published data, our results show that the Pr55gag precursor, when expressed alone, was able to form particles which had an immature morphology and that particle formation required the presence of a myristate addition signal at the amino terminus of the precursor. In contrast, the Pr160gag-pol precursor was not able to form particles when expressed alone, although it still underwent proteolytic processing. Coexpression of the two precursor polyproteins from separate vectors in the same cell resulted in processing of the Pr55gag in trans by the protease embedded in Pr160gag-pol and the formation of virus-like particles containing the products of both precursors. Proteolytic processing occurred independently of the presence of a functional myristate addition signal on either precursor. On the other hand, removal of myristate from one or the other precursor had nonreciprocal effects on virus particle formation. Cells expressing Pr55gag lacking myristate and Pr160gag-pol containing it did not produce particles. Cells expressing a myristylated Pr55gag and unmyristylated Pr160gag-pol still produced virus-like particles which contained nearly normal amounts of Pr160gag-pol. The results suggest that the incorporation of Pr160gag-pol into particles is largely determined by intermolecular protein-protein interactions between the two precursor polypeptides.

Full text

PDF
2266

Images in this article

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Bryant M., Ratner L. Myristoylation-dependent replication and assembly of human immunodeficiency virus 1. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1990 Jan;87(2):523–527. doi: 10.1073/pnas.87.2.523. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Debouck C., Gorniak J. G., Strickler J. E., Meek T. D., Metcalf B. W., Rosenberg M. Human immunodeficiency virus protease expressed in Escherichia coli exhibits autoprocessing and specific maturation of the gag precursor. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1987 Dec;84(24):8903–8906. doi: 10.1073/pnas.84.24.8903. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Ehrlich L. S., Agresta B. E., Carter C. A. Assembly of recombinant human immunodeficiency virus type 1 capsid protein in vitro. J Virol. 1992 Aug;66(8):4874–4883. doi: 10.1128/jvi.66.8.4874-4883.1992. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Farmerie W. G., Loeb D. D., Casavant N. C., Hutchison C. A., 3rd, Edgell M. H., Swanstrom R. Expression and processing of the AIDS virus reverse transcriptase in Escherichia coli. Science. 1987 Apr 17;236(4799):305–308. doi: 10.1126/science.2436298. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Gelderblom H. R., Hausmann E. H., Ozel M., Pauli G., Koch M. A. Fine structure of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and immunolocalization of structural proteins. Virology. 1987 Jan;156(1):171–176. doi: 10.1016/0042-6822(87)90449-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Gheysen D., Jacobs E., de Foresta F., Thiriart C., Francotte M., Thines D., De Wilde M. Assembly and release of HIV-1 precursor Pr55gag virus-like particles from recombinant baculovirus-infected insect cells. Cell. 1989 Oct 6;59(1):103–112. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(89)90873-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Gonda M. A. Molecular genetics and structure of the human immunodeficiency virus. J Electron Microsc Tech. 1988 Jan;8(1):17–40. doi: 10.1002/jemt.1060080104. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Graves M. C., Lim J. J., Heimer E. P., Kramer R. A. An 11-kDa form of human immunodeficiency virus protease expressed in Escherichia coli is sufficient for enzymatic activity. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1988 Apr;85(8):2449–2453. doi: 10.1073/pnas.85.8.2449. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Göttlinger H. G., Dorfman T., Sodroski J. G., Haseltine W. A. Effect of mutations affecting the p6 gag protein on human immunodeficiency virus particle release. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1991 Apr 15;88(8):3195–3199. doi: 10.1073/pnas.88.8.3195. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Göttlinger H. G., Sodroski J. G., Haseltine W. A. Role of capsid precursor processing and myristoylation in morphogenesis and infectivity of human immunodeficiency virus type 1. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1989 Aug;86(15):5781–5785. doi: 10.1073/pnas.86.15.5781. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Haffar O., Garrigues J., Travis B., Moran P., Zarling J., Hu S. L. Human immunodeficiency virus-like, nonreplicating, gag-env particles assemble in a recombinant vaccinia virus expression system. J Virol. 1990 Jun;64(6):2653–2659. doi: 10.1128/jvi.64.6.2653-2659.1990. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Hammarskjöld M. L., Rekosh D. The molecular biology of the human immunodeficiency virus. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1989 Dec 27;989(3):269–280. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Hammarskjöld M. L., Wang S. C., Klein G. High-level expression of the Epstein-Barr virus EBNA1 protein in CV1 cells and human lymphoid cells using a SV40 late replacement vector. Gene. 1986;43(1-2):41–50. doi: 10.1016/0378-1119(86)90006-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Ho S. N., Hunt H. D., Horton R. M., Pullen J. K., Pease L. R. Site-directed mutagenesis by overlap extension using the polymerase chain reaction. Gene. 1989 Apr 15;77(1):51–59. doi: 10.1016/0378-1119(89)90358-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Jacks T., Power M. D., Masiarz F. R., Luciw P. A., Barr P. J., Varmus H. E. Characterization of ribosomal frameshifting in HIV-1 gag-pol expression. Nature. 1988 Jan 21;331(6153):280–283. doi: 10.1038/331280a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Kaplan A. H., Swanstrom R. Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 Gag proteins are processed in two cellular compartments. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1991 May 15;88(10):4528–4532. doi: 10.1073/pnas.88.10.4528. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Karacostas V., Nagashima K., Gonda M. A., Moss B. Human immunodeficiency virus-like particles produced by a vaccinia virus expression vector. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1989 Nov;86(22):8964–8967. doi: 10.1073/pnas.86.22.8964. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Kohl N. E., Emini E. A., Schleif W. A., Davis L. J., Heimbach J. C., Dixon R. A., Scolnick E. M., Sigal I. S. Active human immunodeficiency virus protease is required for viral infectivity. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1988 Jul;85(13):4686–4690. doi: 10.1073/pnas.85.13.4686. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Lewis N., Williams J., Rekosh D., Hammarskjöld M. L. Identification of a cis-acting element in human immunodeficiency virus type 2 (HIV-2) that is responsive to the HIV-1 rev and human T-cell leukemia virus types I and II rex proteins. J Virol. 1990 Apr;64(4):1690–1697. doi: 10.1128/jvi.64.4.1690-1697.1990. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Lightfoote M. M., Coligan J. E., Folks T. M., Fauci A. S., Martin M. A., Venkatesan S. Structural characterization of reverse transcriptase and endonuclease polypeptides of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome retrovirus. J Virol. 1986 Nov;60(2):771–775. doi: 10.1128/jvi.60.2.771-775.1986. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Lillehoj E. P., Salazar F. H., Mervis R. J., Raum M. G., Chan H. W., Ahmad N., Venkatesan S. Purification and structural characterization of the putative gag-pol protease of human immunodeficiency virus. J Virol. 1988 Aug;62(8):3053–3058. doi: 10.1128/jvi.62.8.3053-3058.1988. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Mergener K., Fäcke M., Welker R., Brinkmann V., Gelderblom H. R., Kräusslich H. G. Analysis of HIV particle formation using transient expression of subviral constructs in mammalian cells. Virology. 1992 Jan;186(1):25–39. doi: 10.1016/0042-6822(92)90058-w. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Mervis R. J., Ahmad N., Lillehoj E. P., Raum M. G., Salazar F. H., Chan H. W., Venkatesan S. The gag gene products of human immunodeficiency virus type 1: alignment within the gag open reading frame, identification of posttranslational modifications, and evidence for alternative gag precursors. J Virol. 1988 Nov;62(11):3993–4002. doi: 10.1128/jvi.62.11.3993-4002.1988. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Navia M. A., McKeever B. M. A role for the aspartyl protease from the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) in the orchestration of virus assembly. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1990;616:73–85. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1990.tb17829.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Park J., Morrow C. D. Overexpression of the gag-pol precursor from human immunodeficiency virus type 1 proviral genomes results in efficient proteolytic processing in the absence of virion production. J Virol. 1991 Sep;65(9):5111–5117. doi: 10.1128/jvi.65.9.5111-5117.1991. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. Partin K., Kräusslich H. G., Ehrlich L., Wimmer E., Carter C. Mutational analysis of a native substrate of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 proteinase. J Virol. 1990 Aug;64(8):3938–3947. doi: 10.1128/jvi.64.8.3938-3947.1990. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  27. Pearl L. H., Taylor W. R. A structural model for the retroviral proteases. Nature. 1987 Sep 24;329(6137):351–354. doi: 10.1038/329351a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  28. Peng C., Chang N. T., Chang T. W. Identification and characterization of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 gag-pol fusion protein in transfected mammalian cells. J Virol. 1991 May;65(5):2751–2756. doi: 10.1128/jvi.65.5.2751-2756.1991. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  29. Rekosh D., Nygren A., Flodby P., Hammarskjöld M. L., Wigzell H. Coexpression of human immunodeficiency virus envelope proteins and tat from a single simian virus 40 late replacement vector. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1988 Jan;85(2):334–338. doi: 10.1073/pnas.85.2.334. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  30. Rivière Y., Blank V., Kourilsky P., Israël A. Processing of the precursor of NF-kappa B by the HIV-1 protease during acute infection. Nature. 1991 Apr 18;350(6319):625–626. doi: 10.1038/350625a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  31. Royer M., Hong S. S., Gay B., Cerutti M., Boulanger P. Expression and extracellular release of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 Gag precursors by recombinant baculovirus-infected cells. J Virol. 1992 May;66(5):3230–3235. doi: 10.1128/jvi.66.5.3230-3235.1992. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  32. Smith A. J., Cho M. I., Hammarskjöld M. L., Rekosh D. Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 Pr55gag and Pr160gag-pol expressed from a simian virus 40 late replacement vector are efficiently processed and assembled into viruslike particles. J Virol. 1990 Jun;64(6):2743–2750. doi: 10.1128/jvi.64.6.2743-2750.1990. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  33. Veronese F. D., Copeland T. D., Oroszlan S., Gallo R. C., Sarngadharan M. G. Biochemical and immunological analysis of human immunodeficiency virus gag gene products p17 and p24. J Virol. 1988 Mar;62(3):795–801. doi: 10.1128/jvi.62.3.795-801.1988. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  34. Veronese F. D., Rahman R., Copeland T. D., Oroszlan S., Gallo R. C., Sarngadharan M. G. Immunological and chemical analysis of P6, the carboxyl-terminal fragment of HIV P15. AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses. 1987 Fall;3(3):253–264. doi: 10.1089/aid.1987.3.253. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  35. Weber I. T. Comparison of the crystal structures and intersubunit interactions of human immunodeficiency and Rous sarcoma virus proteases. J Biol Chem. 1990 Jun 25;265(18):10492–10496. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  36. Wilcox C., Hu J. S., Olson E. N. Acylation of proteins with myristic acid occurs cotranslationally. Science. 1987 Nov 27;238(4831):1275–1278. doi: 10.1126/science.3685978. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  37. Willey R. L., Smith D. H., Lasky L. A., Theodore T. S., Earl P. L., Moss B., Capon D. J., Martin M. A. In vitro mutagenesis identifies a region within the envelope gene of the human immunodeficiency virus that is critical for infectivity. J Virol. 1988 Jan;62(1):139–147. doi: 10.1128/jvi.62.1.139-147.1988. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  38. Wills J. W., Craven R. C. Form, function, and use of retroviral gag proteins. AIDS. 1991 Jun;5(6):639–654. doi: 10.1097/00002030-199106000-00002. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  39. Wilson W., Braddock M., Adams S. E., Rathjen P. D., Kingsman S. M., Kingsman A. J. HIV expression strategies: ribosomal frameshifting is directed by a short sequence in both mammalian and yeast systems. Cell. 1988 Dec 23;55(6):1159–1169. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(88)90260-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  40. di Marzo Veronese F., Copeland T. D., DeVico A. L., Rahman R., Oroszlan S., Gallo R. C., Sarngadharan M. G. Characterization of highly immunogenic p66/p51 as the reverse transcriptase of HTLV-III/LAV. Science. 1986 Mar 14;231(4743):1289–1291. doi: 10.1126/science.2418504. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Journal of Virology are provided here courtesy of American Society for Microbiology (ASM)

RESOURCES