Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: EC:2.7.7.49 (reverse transcriptase)
31,746 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) variants resistant to protease inhibitors often display a reduced replicative capacity as a result of an impairment of protease function. Such fitness-impaired viruses display Gag precursor maturation defects. Here, we report that some protease inhibitor-resistant viruses also display abnormalities in the processing of reverse transcriptase (RT) by the protease. In three recombinant viruses carrying resistant protease sequences from patient plasma, we observed a marked decrease in the amount of mature RT subunits and of particle-associated RT activity compared to their parental pretherapy counterparts. We investigated the possibility that a decrease in the amount of particle-associated mature RT could affect the sensitivity of the corresponding virus to RT inhibitors. We observed a twofold increase of sensitivity to zidovudine (AZT) when a virus which carried AZT mutations was processed by a resistant protease. Interestingly, the presence of AZT-resistance mutations partially rescued the replication defect associated with the mutated protease. The interplay between resistance to protease inhibitors and to RT inhibitors described here may be relevant to the therapeutic control of HIV-1 infection.
...
PMID:Effects of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 resistance to protease inhibitors on reverse transcriptase processing, activity, and drug sensitivity. 1007 2

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) Vpr is a virion-associated protein which facilitates HIV-1 infection of nondividing cells by contributing to the nuclear transport of the preintegration complex (PIC). Vpr was also shown to induce a cell cycle G2 arrest in infected proliferating cells that optimizes HIV-1 long terminal repeat (LTR)-directed gene expression and viral production. However, it is unclear whether this activity is mediated primarily early by virion-associated Vpr or alternatively late during infection when Vpr is de novo expressed. We report here that in the absence of de novo expression, virion-associated Vpr induces a transient G2 arrest that can subsequently lead to cell killing by apoptosis. Interestingly, the induction of both cell cycle G2 arrest and apoptosis by virion-associated Vpr requires viral entry but not viral replication, since reverse transcriptase and protease inhibitor treatments do not prevent these Vpr effects. These results raise the possibility that in vivo both infectious and noninfectious viruses contribute to the dysfunction and killing of CD4(+) cells. In addition, our results reveal that virion-associated Vpr stimulates viral replication in proliferating cells after establishing a cell cycle G2 arrest by increasing LTR-directed gene expression. Importantly, this Vpr-mediated LTR activation appears to be a requirement for subsequent optimal Tat transactivation. Taken together, these results strongly suggest that in addition to participating in the HIV PIC nuclear transport in nondividing cells, virion-associated Vpr activates HIV-1 LTR-directed gene expression by manipulating the host cell cycle. From this, we conclude that Vpr functions as an immediate-early protein during HIV-1 infection.
...
PMID:Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) Vpr functions as an immediate-early protein during HIV-1 infection. 1019 6

Human immunodeficiency virus type 2 (HIV-2) is less pathogenic than HIV type 1 (HIV-1), but the mechanisms underlying this difference have not been defined. We developed an internally controlled quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction to measure HIV-2 viral load and determined levels of plasma virus in a cohort of registered commercial sex workers in Dakar, Senegal. The assay has a lower limit of detection of 100 copies/mL and is linear over 4 logs. HIV-2 viral RNA was detectable in 56% of all samples tested; the median load was 141 copies/mL. Levels of viral RNA in the plasma were inversely related to CD4+ cell counts. HIV-2 and HIV-1 viral loads were compared among the seroincident women in the cohort; the median viral load was 30x lower in the HIV-2-infected women (P<.001, Wilcoxon rank sum test), irrespective of the length of time infected. This suggests that plasma viremia is linked to the differences in the pathogenicity of the 2 viruses.
...
PMID:Lower human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) type 2 viral load reflects the difference in pathogenicity of HIV-1 and HIV-2. 1047 38

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 reverse transcriptase (RT) has limited homology with DNA and RNA polymerases. The conserved Lys-220 of motif D is a signature of RNA-dependent polymerases. Motif D is located in the "palm" domain and forms a small loop from Thr-215 to Lys-223. This loop is absent from the polymerase I family of DNA-dependent polymerases. Analysis of RT structures in comparison with other polymerases reveals that the motif D loop has the potential to undergo a conformational change upon binding a nucleotide. We find that amino acid changes in motif D affect the interaction of RT with the incoming nucleotide. A chimeric RT in which the loop of motif D is substituted by the corresponding amino acid segment from Taq DNA polymerase lacking this loop has a decreased affinity for incoming nucleotides. We have also constructed a mutant RT where the conserved lysine at position 220 within the motif D is substituted with glutamine. Both RT(K220Q) and the chimeric RT are resistant in vitro to 3'-deoxy 3'-azidothymidine 5'-triphosphate (AZTTP). These results suggest that motif D is interacting with the incoming nucleotide and a determinant of the sensitivity of reverse transcriptases to AZTTP. We do not observe any interaction of motif D with the template primer.
...
PMID:The motif D loop of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 reverse transcriptase is critical for nucleoside 5'-triphosphate selectivity. 1058 59

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) reverse transcriptase (RT) variants with the K65R or L74V substitution display resistance to several nucleoside analogs. An in vitro dNTP exclusion assay revealed an increased fidelity for K65R RT compared with wild-type RT, but little change for L74V RT. When the forward mutation rates were measured via a gap-filling assay, the K65R variant displayed an 8-fold decrease in the overall mutation rate (1.0 x 10(-3) versus 8.6 x 10(-3) for wild-type HIV-1 RT), whereas the rate for the L74V variant was closer to that for wild-type RT (5.0 x 10(-3)). The increase in overall fidelity observed for K65R RT is the largest reported for any drug-resistant HIV-1 RT variant. Nucleotide sequence analysis of lacZalpha mutants generated by variant RTs indicated that K65R RT displays uniform reduction in most types of errors, whereas L74V RT does not. Modeling the substitutions into the x-ray structure of the ternary complex revealed that the major influence of Leu(74) in stabilizing the templating base is unaffected by Val substitution, whereas the K65R substitution appears to increase the stringency of dNTP binding. It is speculated that the increased fidelity of K65R RT is due to an altered interaction with the dNTP substrate.
...
PMID:Differential influence of nucleoside analog-resistance mutations K65R and L74V on the overall mutation rate and error specificity of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 reverse transcriptase. 1083 21

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) isolates resistant to (-)-beta-D-dioxolane-guanosine (DXG), a potent and selective nucleoside analog HIV-1 reverse transcriptase (RT) inhibitor, were selected by serial passage of HIV-1(LAI) in increasing drug concentrations (maximum concentration, 30 microM). Two independent selection experiments were performed. Viral isolates for which the DXG median effective concentrations (EC(50)s) increased 7.3- and 12.2-fold were isolated after 13 and 14 passages, respectively. Cloning and DNA sequencing of the RT region from the first resistant isolate identified a K65R mutation (AAA to AGA) in 10 of 10 clones. The role of this mutation in DXG resistance was confirmed by site-specific mutagenesis of HIV-1(LAI). The K65R mutation also conferred greater than threefold cross-resistance to 2',3'-dideoxycytidine, 2', 3'-dideoxyinosine, 2',3'-dideoxy-3'-thiacytidine, 9-(2-phosphonylmethoxyethyl)adenine, 2-amino-6-chloropurine dioxolane, dioxolanyl-5-fluorocytosine, and diaminopurine dioxolane but had only marginal effects on 3'-azido-3'-deoxthymidine (AZT) susceptibility. However, when introduced into a genetic background for AZT resistance (D67N, K70R, T215Y, T219Q), the K65R mutation reversed the AZT resistance. DNA sequencing of RT clones derived from the second resistant isolate identified the L74V mutation, previously reported to cause ddI resistance. The L74V mutation also decreased the AZT resistance when the mutation was introduced into a genetic background for AZT resistance (D67N, K70R, T215Y, T219Q) but to a lesser degree than the K65R mutation did. These findings indicate that DXG and certain 2',3'-dideoxy compounds (e.g., ddI) can select for the same resistance mutations and thus may not be optimal for use in combination. However, the combination of AZT with DXG or its orally bioavailable prodrug (-)-beta-D-2, 6-diaminopurine-dioxolane should be explored because of the suppressive effects of the K65R and L74V mutations on AZT resistance.
...
PMID:In vitro selection of mutations in the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 reverse transcriptase that decrease susceptibility to (-)-beta-D-dioxolane-guanosine and suppress resistance to 3'-azido-3'-deoxythymidine. 1085 31

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) rapidly develops resistance to lamivudine during monotherapy, typically resulting in the appearance at position 184 in reverse transcriptase (RT) of isoleucine instead of the wild-type methionine (M184I) early in therapy, which is later replaced by valine (M184V). M184V reduces viral susceptibility to drug in vitro by approximately 100-fold, but also results in a lower processivity of RT. We show that a drop in absolute viral fitness associated with the outgrowth of M184V results in a drop in viral load only in individuals with high CD4(+) counts, from whom we estimate the relative fitness of M184V in the presence of drug to be approximately 10% of that of the wild type prior to therapy. The timing of emergence of the M184V mutant varies widely between infected individuals. From analysis of the frequency of M184I and M184V mutants determined at multiple time points in seven individuals during lamivudine therapy, we estimated the fitness advantage of M184V over M184I during therapy to be approximately 23% on average. We have also estimated the average ratio of the frequencies of the two mutants prior to therapy to be 0. 2:1, with a range from 0.12:1 to 0.33:1. We have found that the differences between individuals in the rate of evolution of lamivudine resistance arise due to genetic drift affecting the relative frequency of M184I and M184V prior to therapy. These results show that stochastic effects can be significant in HIV evolution, even when there is large fitness difference between mutant and wild-type variants.
...
PMID:Evolution of lamivudine resistance in human immunodeficiency virus type 1-infected individuals: the relative roles of drift and selection. 1086 35

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) reverse transcriptase (RT) is a putative source of the genomic hypermutation that promotes rapid evolution of HIV-1. To understand the molecular strategies that create a highly mutagenic DNA polymerase active site in HIV-1 RT, we investigated the roles of four residues in the beta 8-alpha E loop. Gln151, which interacts with the sugar of the incoming dNTP, and Lys154, which interacts with the template, yielded site-directed mutants with increased fidelity, suggesting that these residues are directly involved in the mutagenic architecture of the active site. Mutations at Gln151 and Lys154 also reduced processivity. Q151N RT showed enhanced ability to discriminate between TTP and AZT triphosphate, consistent with the observation that the Q151M mutation confers AZT resistance in vivo. Mutations at Gly152 greatly decreased RT activity; molecular modeling suggests that Gly152 is critical for the proper geometric alignment that permits base-pairing of the incoming dNTP with the template. Mutations at Trp153 reduced the expression level, and presumably the stability, of RT proteins in bacteria. These observations support the conclusion that interactions of active site residues in the beta 8-alpha E loop with incoming dNTPs and the template are determinants of the accuracy, processivity, and substrate selectivity of HIV-1 RT.
...
PMID:Molecular architecture of the mutagenic active site of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 reverse transcriptase: roles of the beta 8-alpha E loop in fidelity, processivity, and substrate interactions. 1097 52

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) reverse transcriptase (RT), nucleocapsid protein (NC), genomic RNA, and the growing DNA strand all influence the copying of the HIV-1 RNA genome into DNA. A detailed understanding of these activities is required to understand the process of reverse transcription. HIV-1 viral DNA is initiated from a tRNA(3)(Lys) primer bound to the viral genome at the primer binding site. The U3 and R regions of the RNA genome are the first sequences to be copied. The TAR hairpin, a structure found within the R region of the viral genome, is the site of increased RT pausing, RNase H activity, and RT dissociation. Template RNA was digested approximately 17 bases behind the site where polymerase paused at the base of TAR. In most template RNAs, this was the only cleavage made by the RT responsible for initiating polymerization. If the RT that initiated DNA synthesis dissociated from the base of the TAR hairpin and an RT rebound at the end of the primer, there was competition between the polymerase and RNase H activities. After the complete heteroduplex was formed, there were additional RNase H cleavages that did not involve polymerization. Levels of NC that prevented TAR DNA self-priming did not protect genomic RNA from RNase H digestion. RNase H digestion of the 100-bp heteroduplex produced a 14-base RNA from the 5' end of the RNA that remained annealed to the 3' end of the minus-strand strong-stop DNA only if NC was present in the reaction.
...
PMID:In vitro analysis of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 minus-strand strong-stop DNA synthesis and genomic RNA processing. 1113 81

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 Gag and Gag-Pol precursors are translated from an mRNA which is indistinguishable from the full-length genomic RNA. The ratio of Gag to Gag-Pol polyproteins is approximately 20:1 and is controlled by a frameshift of the reading frame, which takes place downstream of the p7 nucleocapsid (NC) in the N terminus of the p1 peptide. The viral precursors Gag and Gag-Pol are cleaved by the virus-encoded protease (PR) into the structural proteins, and into p6(Pol), PR, reverse transcriptase and integrase. Due to the frameshift event, the cleavage site at the C terminus of NC coded in the Gag frame (ERQAN-FLGKI) changes either to ERQANFLRED or ERQANFFRED. The results presented in this report demonstrate that the NC released from the Gag-Pol precursor is 8 amino acid residues longer than the NC cleaved from the Gag polyprotein. Our results also show that truncated Gag-Pol precursors bearing cleavage site mutation at the NC/p6(Pol), and/or p6(Pol)/PR junctions, undergo autoprocessing in bacterial and eukaryotic cells, indicating that PR is active when part of the precursor.
...
PMID:Extended nucleocapsid protein is cleaved from the Gag-Pol precursor of human immunodeficiency virus type 1. 1117 99


<< Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next >>