• Cyclophilin A promotes HIV-1 reverse transcription but its effect on transduction correlates best with its effect on nuclear entry of viral cDNA

      De Iaco, Alberto; Luban, Jeremy (2014-01-30)
      BACKGROUND: The human peptidyl-prolyl isomerase Cyclophilin A (CypA) binds HIV-1 capsid (CA) and influences early steps in the HIV-1 replication cycle. The mechanism by which CypA regulates HIV-1 transduction efficiency is unknown. Disruption of CypA binding to CA, either by genetic means or by the competitive inhibitor cyclosporine A (CsA), reduces the efficiency of HIV-1 transduction in some cells but not in others. Transduction of certain cell types increases significantly when CypA binding to particular HIV-1 CA mutants, i.e., A92E, is prevented. Previous studies have suggested that this cell type-specific effect is due to a dominant-acting, CypA-dependent restriction factor. RESULTS: Here we investigated the mechanism by which CypA regulates HIV-1 transduction efficiency using 27 different human cell lines, 32 HeLa subclones, and several previously characterized HIV-1 CA mutants. Disruption of CypA binding to wild-type CA, or to any of the mutant CAs, caused a decrease in HIV-1 reverse transcription in all the cell lines analyzed here. This block to reverse transcription, though, did not correlate with cell type-specific effects on transduction efficiency. The level of 2-LTR circles, a marker for nuclear transport of the viral cDNA that results from reverse transcription, correlated closely with effects on infectivity. No correlation was observed between the cell type-specific effects on infectivity and the steady-state CypA protein levels in these cells. Instead, as indicated by a fate-of-capsid assay, CsA released the HIV-1 CA core from an apparent state of hyperstabilization, in a cell type-specific manner. CONCLUSION: These data demonstrate that, while CypA promotes reverse transcription under all conditions tested here, its effect on HIV-1 infectivity correlates more closely with effects on nuclear entry of the viral cDNA. The data also support the hypothesis that a cell-type specific CypA-dependent restriction factor blocks HIV-1 replication by delaying CA core uncoating and hindering nuclear entry.
    • Modest but reproducible inhibition of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 infection in macrophages following LEDGFp75 silencing

      Zielske, Steven P.; Stevenson, Mario (2006-07-01)
      LEDGFp75 is a cellular protein which binds human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) integrase with high specificity and affinity but whose function in infection has not been defined. We infected LEDGFp75-deficient primary macrophages with wild-type HIV in order to assess potential infection phenotypes which would provide clues to LEDGFp75 function. Silencing of LEDGFp75 by 70 to 80% resulted in an average of 53% reduced infection of macrophages by HIV. Analysis of infection intermediates showed that integration, but not two-long-terminal-repeat (2LTR) circles or late cDNAs, was reduced up to 74% in LEDGFp75-deficient macrophages. Therefore, LEDGFp75 has a modest involvement in HIV-1 integration in macrophages.