Evolution of a concept: From accessory protein to key virulence factor, the case of HIV-1 Vpr.

Clémentine Wallet, Olivier Rohr, Christian Schwartz

Journal: Biochemical pharmacology 2021;180():114128

PMID: 32619426

Full Text on Elsevier Science View on PubMed

Abstract

Back in 1989 some studies have shown that the viral protein Vpr was dispensable for HIV-1 replication in vitro. From then the concept of accessory or auxiliary protein for Vpr has emerged and it is still used to date. However, Vpr soon appeared to be very important for in vivo virus spread and pathogenesis. Vpr has been involved in many biological functions including regulation of reverse transcriptase activity, the nuclear import of the pre-integration complex (PIC), HIV-1 transcription, gene splicing, apoptosis and in cell cycle arrest. Thus, we might rather consider Vpr as a true virulence factor instead of just an accessory factor. At present, Vpr can be regarded as a potential and promising target in different strategies aiming to fight infected cells including latently infected cells.

Address: University of Strasbourg, Research Unit7292, DHPI, IUT Louis Pasteur, Schiltigheim, France.; University of Strasbourg, Research Unit7292, DHPI, IUT Louis Pasteur, Schiltigheim, France. Electronic address: [email protected].

DOI: 10.1016/j.bcp.2020.114128

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MeSH Terms: Amino Acid Sequence, Apoptosis, Cell Cycle, Disease Progression, HIV Infections, Humans, Mutagenesis, Site-Directed, Polymorphism, Genetic, T-Lymphocytes, Transcription, Genetic, Virulence Factors, vpr Gene Products, Human Immunodeficiency Virus