Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: EC:3.1.26.4 (RNase H)
2,751 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Conversion of the single-stranded RNA of an invading retrovirus into double-stranded proviral DNA is catalyzed in a multi-step process by a single virus-coded enzyme, reverse transcriptase (RT). Achieving this requires a combination of DNA polymerase abd ribonuclease H (RNase H) activities, which are located at the amino and carboxy terminus of the enzyme, respectively. Moreover, proviral DNA synthesis requires that three structurally-distinct nucleic acid duplexes are accommodated by this enzyme, namely (a) A-form RNA (initiation of minus strand synthesis), non-A, non-B RNA/DNA hybrid (minus strand synthesis and initiation of plus strand synthesis) and B-form duplex DNA (plus strand synthesis). This review summarizes our current understanding of the manner in which retroviral RT interacts with this diverse array of nucleic acid duplexes, exploiting in many cases mutants unable to catalyze a specific event. These studies illustrate that seemingly 'simple' events such as tRNA-primed initiation of minus strand synthesis are considerably more complex, involving intermolecular tRNA-viral RNA interactions outside the primer binding site. Moreover, RNase H activity, generally thought to catalyze non-specific degradation of the RNA-DNA replicative intermediate, is required for highly specialized events including DNA strand transfer and polypurine selection. Finally, a unique structure near the center of HIV proviral DNA, the central termination sequence, serves to halt the replication machinery in a manner analogous to termination of transcription. As these highly specialized events are better understood at the molecular level, they may open new avenues of therapeutic intervention in the continuing effort to stem the progression of HIV infection and AIDS.
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PMID:Interaction of retroviral reverse transcriptase with template-primer duplexes during replication. 930 71

Retroviral reverse transcriptase (RT) is involved in the selection of a specific tRNA primer which initiates proviral DNA minus-strand synthesis. Studies of the interactions between human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) RT and primer tRNALys3 have shown that the dihydrouridine (diHU), anticodon, and pseudouridine regions of tRNA are highly protected in the RT-tRNA complex. The CCA 3' end of tRNA is also in close contact with the enzyme during the cDNA initiation step. Using synthetic oligoribonucleotides corresponding to the anticodon and diHU regions, we have previously shown a low but significant inhibition of HIV-1 RT activity. We extend this observation and show that primer tRNA-derived oligodeoxynucleotides (ODNs) carrying a phosphorothioate (PS) modification are strong inhibitors of HIV-1 RT. The affinity of PS-ODNs for the enzyme was monitored by gel mobility shift electrophoresis. Experiments with HIV-1-infected human cells (MT-2 cells) were performed with the latter ODNs. A PS-ODN corresponding to the 3' end of tRNALys3 (acceptor stem [AS]) was able to inhibit HIV-1 replication. No effect of the other modified ODNs was observed in infected cells. The analysis of HIV-1 RNase H activity in a cell-free system strongly suggests that the inhibitory effect of the PS-AS may be mediated via both a sense and an antisense mechanism.
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PMID:Phosphorothioate oligonucleotides derived from human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) primer tRNALys3 are strong inhibitors of HIV-1 reverse transcriptase and arrest viral replication in infected cells. 933 39

The Ig heavy chain class switch in B lymphocytes involves a unique genetic recombination that fuses specific regions within the Ig locus and deletes intervening sequences. Here we describe a novel exonuclease activity in nuclear lysates of B cells in an in vitro assay. This activity was induced in B lymphocytes after treatment with either LPSs or CD40 ligand/anti-delta-dextran, both of which induce switch recombination, and considerably less activity was detected in untreated or anti-delta-dextran-treated B cells, Con A-stimulated spleen cells, liver cells, or a number of cell lines. The exonuclease activity was dependent on divalent cations, and both 3' and 5' labels were efficiently removed from DNA substrates. The presence of RNase A, but not RNase H, inhibited exonucleolytic digestion, suggesting that a ribonucleoprotein is responsible for the exonucleolysis. The DNA digestion appears to be nonspecific, since DNA substrates with either switch-mu or unrelated sequence were hydrolyzed with comparable efficiency. Germ-line switch region transcripts (Ig gamma1, Ig gamma3, and Ig alpha) strongly inhibited the exonucleolysis of switch-mu DNA but not that of unrelated control DNA, while switch antisense RNA or tRNA were much less effective inhibitors.
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PMID:Stimulation of murine B lymphocytes induces a DNA exonuclease whose activity on switch-mu DNA is specifically inhibited by other germ-line switch region RNAs. 953 Dec 92

Recently, tRNALys-3 was cross-linked via its anticodon loop to human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) reverse transcriptase (RT) between residues 230 and 357 (Mishima, Y., and Steitz, J. A. (1995) EMBO J. 14, 2679-2687). Scanning the surface of this region identified three basic amino acids Lys249, Arg307, and Lys311 flanking a small crevice on the p66 thumb subdomain outside the primer-template binding cleft. To assess an interaction of this region with the tRNA anticodon loop, these p66 residues were altered to Glu or Gln. p66 subunits containing K249Q, K311Q, K311E, and a dual R307E/K311E mutation formed a stable dimer with wild type p51. All mutants showed reduced affinity for tRNALys-3 and supported significantly less (-)-strand DNA synthesis from this primer than the parental heterodimer. In contrast, these variants efficiently synthesized HIV-1 (-)-strand strong-stop DNA from oligonucleotide primers and had minimal effect on RNase H activity, retaining endonucleolytic and directed cleavage of an RNA/DNA hybrid. Structural features of binary RT.tRNALys-3 complexes were examined by in situ footprinting, via susceptibility to 1, 10-phenanthroline-copper-mediated cleavage. Unlike wild type RT, mutants p66(K311Q)/p51 and p66(K311E)/p51 failed to protect the tRNA anticodon domain from chemical cleavage, indicating a significant structural alteration in the binary RT.tRNA complex. These results suggest a crevice in the p66 thumb subdomain of HIV-1 RT supports an interaction with the tRNALys-3 anticodon loop critical for efficient (-)-strand DNA synthesis.
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PMID:Mutating a region of HIV-1 reverse transcriptase implicated in tRNA(Lys-3) binding and the consequences for (-)-strand DNA synthesis. 960 66

Ty1 retrotransposition, like retroviral replication, is a complex series of events requiring reverse transcription of an RNA intermediate, RNA-primed minus- and plus-strand DNA synthesis, multiple strand transfers, and precise cleavages of the template and primers by RNase H. In this report, we examine the structure of in vivo Ty1 replication intermediates, specifically with regard to the behavior of reverse transcriptase upon reaching template ends and to the precision with which RNase H might generate these ends. While the expected 3' termini were always identified, terminal nontemplated bases were also observed at all of the RNA and DNA template ends examined. Nontemplated A residues were most common at all 3' ends, although C residues were preferentially added to minus-strand termini paused at the 5' end of capped Ty1 RNA. In addition, we observed that RNase H removal of the tRNA primer and of the polypurine tract was not always precise or efficient. Finally, we noted numerous instances of Ty1 reverse transcriptase transferring from normal Ty1 template ends to various tRNA templates, with continued synthesis to specific modified bases. A similar pattern was obtained for Ty2, indicating that template ends offer unique opportunities for these two related reverse transcriptases to generate errors.
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PMID:In vivo Ty1 reverse transcription can generate replication intermediates with untidy ends. 965 92

Retroviral reverse transcriptase-associated RNase H enzymes are responsible for degradation of viral RNA, including removal of the tRNA primer after plus-strand strong-stop synthesis and cleavage of the polypurine tract primer. These activities are required for the complex viral replication and result in generation of the long terminal repeats. The human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) RNase H domain has been expressed independently of the polymerase domain and possesses Mn2+-dependent activity with a hexahistidine tag. The isolated domain maintains the ability to specifically remove a tRNA primer mimic. In this study, the substrate determinants for recognition of the cognate tRNA3Lys are defined. Model substrates were constructed which mimic the RNA-DNA hybrid obtained from plus-strand strong-stop synthesis. Deletion substrates containing only 12, 9, or 6 positions of the tRNA primer were capable of being cleaved by the isolated RNase H domain. Mismatch and bromodeoxyuridine mutagenesis analysis indicated that positions 2, 3, 4, and 6, when mutated, affected the specificity of RNase H activity. Substitution substrates indicated that positions 4 and 6 within the RNA primer were important for recognition and cleavage by the HIV-1 isolated RNase H domain. Moloney murine leukemia virus-HIV-1 hybrid substrates were constructed which demonstrated that changes to HIV-1 sequences at positions 4 and 6 were sufficient but not optimal for regaining cleavage by the isolated HIV-1 RNase H domain. Optimal site-specific cleavage between the terminal ribonucleotide A and ribonucleotide C requires additional sequences beyond the first six positions but less than nine.
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PMID:Sequence requirements for removal of tRNA by an isolated human immunodeficiency virus type 1 RNase H domain. 965 29

Small RNA pseudoknots, selected to bind human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) reverse transcriptase tightly, are potent inhibitors of reverse transcriptase. The co-crystal structure of reverse transcriptase complexed with a 33 nucleotide RNA pseudoknot has been determined by fitting the ligand into a high quality, 4-fold averaged 4.8 A resolution electron density map. The RNA is kinked between stems S1 and S2, thereby optimizing its contacts with subunits of the heterodimer. Its binding site extends along the cleft that lies between the polymerase and RNase H active sites, partially overlaps with that observed for duplex DNA and presumably overlaps some portion of the tRNA site. Stem S2 and loop L1 stabilize the 'closed' conformation of the polymerase through extensive electrostatic interactions with several basic residues in helix I of the p66 thumb and in the p66 fingers domain. Presumably, this RNA ligand inhibits reverse transcriptase by binding to a site that partly overlaps the primer-template binding site.
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PMID:The structure of HIV-1 reverse transcriptase complexed with an RNA pseudoknot inhibitor. 968 19

HIV-1 reverse transcriptase (RT) utilizes RNA oligomers to prime DNA synthesis. The initiation of reverse transcription requires specific interactions between HIV-1 RNA, primer tRNA3Lys, and RT. We have previously shown that extension of an oligodeoxyribonucleotide, a situation that mimicks elongation, is unspecific and differs from initiation by the polymerization rate and dissociation rate of RT from the primer-template complex. Here, we used replication intermediates to analyze the transition from the initiation to the elongation phases. We found that the 2'-hydroxyl group at the 3' end of tRNA had limited effects on the polymerization and dissociation rate constants. Instead, the polymerization rate increased 3400-fold between addition of the sixth and seventh nucleotide to tRNA3Lys. The same increase in the polymerization rate was observed when an oligoribonucleotide, but not an oligodeoxyribonucleotide, was used as a primer. In parallel, the dissociation rate of RT from the primer-template complex decreased 30-fold between addition of the 17th and 19th nucleotide to tRNA3Lys. The polymerization and dissociation rates are most likely governed by interactions of the primer strand with helix alphaH in the p66 thumb subdomain and the RNase H domain of RT, respectively.
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PMID:Contacts between reverse transcriptase and the primer strand govern the transition from initiation to elongation of HIV-1 reverse transcription. 973 33

During HIV reverse transcription, (+) strand DNA synthesis is primed by an RNase H-resistant sequence, the polypurine tract, and continues as far as a 18-nt double-stranded RNA region corresponding to the 3' end of tRNALys,3 hybridized to the viral primer binding site (PBS). Before (+) strand DNA transfer, reverse transcriptase (RT) needs to unwind the double-stranded tRNA-PBS RNA in order to reverse-transcribe the 3' end of primer tRNALys,3. Since the detailed mechanism of (+) strand DNA transfer remains incompletely understood, we developed an in vitro system to closely examine this mechanism, composed of HIV 5' RNA, natural modified tRNALys,3, synthetic unmodified tRNALys,3 or oligonucleotides (RNA or DNA) complementary to the PBS, as well as the viral proteins RT and nucleocapsid protein (NCp7). Prior to (+) strand DNA transfer, RT stalls at the double-stranded tRNA-PBS RNA complex and is able to reverse-transcribe modified nucleosides of natural tRNALys,3. Modified nucleoside m1A-58 of natural tRNALys,3 is only partially effective as a stop signal, as RT can transcribe as far as the hyper-modified adenosine (ms2t6A-37) in the anticodon loop. m1A-58 is almost always transcribed into A, whereas other modified nucleosides are transcribed correctly, except for m7G-46, which is sometimes transcribed into T. In contrast, synthetic tRNALys,3, an RNA PBS primer, and a DNA PBS primer are completely reverse-transcribed. In the presence of an acceptor template, (+) strand DNA transfer is efficient only with templates containing natural tRNALys,3 or the RNA PBS primer. Sequence analysis of transfer products revealed frequent errors at the transfer site with synthetic tRNALys,3, not observed with natural tRNALys,3. Thus, modified nucleoside m1A-58, present in all retroviral tRNA primers, appears to be important for both efficacy and fidelity of (+) strand DNA transfer. We show that other factors such as the nature of the (-) PBS of the acceptor template and the RNase H activity of RT also influence the efficacy of (+) strand DNA transfer.
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PMID:Role of post-transcriptional modifications of primer tRNALys,3 in the fidelity and efficacy of plus strand DNA transfer during HIV-1 reverse transcription. 993 45

Reverse transcriptase enzymes (RT) convert single-stranded retroviral RNA genomes into double-stranded DNA. The RT enzyme can use both RNA and DNA primers, the former being used exclusively during initiation of minus- and plus-strand synthesis. Initiation of minus-strand DNA synthesis occurs by extension of a tRNA primer that is associated with the viral genome, and plus-strand DNA synthesis is initiated from an RNase H- resistant polypurine tract of the genomic RNA that remains bound to the newly synthesized minus-strand DNA. All other phases of reverse transcription represent elongation of a DNA primer. We demonstrate that the polymerase fidelity of RT enzymes is significantly higher in tRNA-primed reverse transcription compared with DNA-primed reactions. Two mechanistic explanations can be proposed. First, the type of template-primer (T- P) duplex (RNA-RNA versus RNA-DNA) may affect the RT enzyme conformation such that the discrimination against incorrect nucleotides is affected. Second, the tRNA primer may act as a fidelity co-factor through specific association with the RT enzyme. According to the latter hypothesis, the increased fidelity observed for an RNA-RNA T-P should persist at a distance from the initiation site, where the enzyme-bound nucleic acid duplex will consist of RNA-cDNA. However, we measured that the effect of tRNA on the fidelity is detectable only at a short distance from the initiation site. These results indicate that the type of T-P duplex influences the fidelity of reverse transcription, suggesting that two small segments of the viral genome downstream of the initiation sites for minus- and plus-strand DNA synthesis are copied with a fidelity that is greater than average.
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PMID:The fidelity of reverse transcription differs in reactions primed with RNA versus DNA primers. 1008 43


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