Role of the lentivirus Vpu gene in virus replication.

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1994. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

Role of the lentivirus Vpu gene in virus replication.

Symp Nonhum Primate Models AIDS. 1993 Sep 19-22;11:abstract no. 33. Unique Identifier : AIDSLINE PRIM11/94191627
Geraghty RJ; Callahan M; Harper W; Panganiban AT; McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, University of Wisconsin,; Madison 53706.

Abstract: Lentiviruses such as SIV and HIV express a group of genes termed the accessory genes because they are not found in simpler retroviruses. Although SIV contains most of the accessory genes found in HIV-1, there is no obvious counterpart to the HIV-1 vpu gene. Vpu apparently functions in two separate ways during the process of virus formation and release. First, Vpu facilitates the intracellular dissociation of Env-gp-CD4 complexes and degradation of CD4. Second, Vpu promotes the release of particles from cells through a mechanism that does not involve either Env-gp or CD4. We are examining the role of Vpu in lentivirus replication and have taken a variety of approaches toward to understand the role of Vpu in particle release. There are two general hypotheses, which are not mutually exclusive, that might account for the action of Vpu. Vpu could interact directly or indirectly with components of the viral capsid to facilitate release. Alternatively, Vpu might interact with a cellular factor to somehow promote virus exit. We have found that the need for Vpu is cell type specific. Vpu is necessary for release from a human cell line but is dispensable when virus arises from a simian cell line. This observation is consistent with an interaction between Vpu and a cellular factor. In an attempt to identify cellular factors that might interact with Vpu, we used the yeast GAL4 transcriptional activation system to detect interaction between a Vpu-GAL4 fusion protein and a human lymphocyte cDNA expression library; in this library the cDNAs were appended to the activator domain of GAL4. This screening procedure yielded three cDNAs that apparently encode protein which interacts with Vpu. The potential interaction of these proteins with Vpu, the interaction of Vpu with the cell, and the potential interaction of Vpu with other viral proteins is under investigation.

Keywords: Cell Line Fungal Proteins/GENETICS/METABOLISM Gene Products, env/METABOLISM Gene Products, vpu/METABOLISM *Genes, vpu *Genes, Regulator *Genes, Viral Human HIV-1/GENETICS/*PHYSIOLOGY Lentivirus/GENETICS/*PHYSIOLOGY Lymphocytes/METABOLISM Saccharomyces cerevisiae/METABOLISM SIV/GENETICS/*PHYSIOLOGY Transcription Factors/METABOLISM Virus Replication/*GENETICS ABSTRACT
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M9470891

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