Important note: Information in this article was accurate in March 1999. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.AIDSWEEKLY Plus; Monday, March 29, 1999
Daniel J. DeNoon, Senior Editor
HIV-1 Gag plays several vital roles in replication of the AIDS virus. Now mutational analysis of the Gag protein reveals that its capsid region contains a unique proline-glycine-glutamine-methionine (PGQM) amino-acid motif. Without the motif the virus cannot replicate. Importantly, HIV-1 with alanine (A) mutations in the G and Q residues of this motif also were unable to replicate.
"Our results suggest potential strategies for developing anti-HIV-1 agents based on the loop containing the PGQM motif present in the capsid protein," wrote M. Srivastava of the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences, Bethesda, Maryland, and colleagues.
Srivastava et al. reported their findings in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ("HIV-1 Gag Shares A Signature Motif with Annexin (Anx7), Which Is Required for Virus Replication," Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 1999 Mar 16;96(6):2704-9).
The human synexin molecule also contains a single copy of a modified PGQM motif. Synexin is a member of the annexin gene family and plays a role in the process of exocytosis. The PGQM motif may be important in this process as it cross-links with three distinct cellular proteins.
This work was supported by funds from the National Institutes of Health, a grant from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to the Biotechnology Foundation Inc., a grant from the Biomedical Research Support Committee, and institutional funds.
The corresponding author for this study is A. Srinivasan, Institute of Biotechnology and Advanced Molecular Medicine, Thomas Jefferson University, 1020 Locust St., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19107. Email: asrinivasan@redd1.uns.tju.edu.
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