IP6 is an HIV pocket factor that prevents capsid collapse and promotes DNA synthesis
- Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology, United Kingdom
- University of New South Wales, Australia
- University College London, United Kingdom
Abstract
The HIV capsid is semi-permeable and covered in electropositive pores that are essential for viral DNA synthesis and infection. Here we show that these pores bind the abundant cellular polyanion IP6, transforming viral stability from minutes to hours and allowing newly synthesised DNA to accumulate inside the capsid. An arginine ring within the pore coordinates IP6, which strengthens capsid hexamers by almost 10°C. Single molecule measurements demonstrate that this renders native HIV capsids highly stable and protected from spontaneous collapse. Moreover, encapsidated reverse transcription assays reveal that, once stabilised by IP6, the accumulation of new viral DNA inside the capsid increases > 100-fold. Remarkably, isotopic labelling of inositol in virus producing cells reveals that HIV selectively packages over 300 IP6 molecules per infectious virion. We propose that HIV recruits IP6 to regulate capsid stability and uncoating, analogous to picornavirus pocket factors.
Data availability
Diffraction data have been deposited in PDB under the accession code 6ERM, 6ERN and 6ES8.
Article and author information
Author details
Funding
Medical Research Council (U105181010)
- Leo C James
Wellcome
- Leo C James
National Health and Medical Research Council (339223)
- Till Böcking
National Health and Medical Research Council (GNT1036521)
- David A Jacques
Wellcome (206248/Z/17/Z)
- William A McEwan
Wellcome
- Gregory J Towers
The funders had no role in study design, data collection and interpretation, or the decision to submit the work for publication.
Reviewing Editor
- Wesley I Sundquist, University of Utah School of Medicine, United States
Version history
- Received: January 23, 2018
- Accepted: May 29, 2018
- Accepted Manuscript published: May 31, 2018 (version 1)
- Version of Record published: July 10, 2018 (version 2)
Copyright
© 2018, Mallery et al.
This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License permitting unrestricted use and redistribution provided that the original author and source are credited.
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IP6 is an HIV pocket factor that prevents capsid collapse and promotes DNA synthesis
eLife 7:e35335.
https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.35335
Further reading
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- Microbiology and Infectious Disease
- Structural Biology and Molecular Biophysics
Structural and biophysical studies help to follow the disassembly of the HIV-1 capsid in vitro, and reveal the role of a small molecule called IP6 in regulating capsid stability.
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- Genetics and Genomics
- Microbiology and Infectious Disease
Plasmids enable the dissemination of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in common Enterobacterales pathogens, representing a major public health challenge. However, the extent of plasmid sharing and evolution between Enterobacterales causing human infections and other niches remains unclear, including the emergence of resistance plasmids. Dense, unselected sampling is essential to developing our understanding of plasmid epidemiology and designing appropriate interventions to limit the emergence and dissemination of plasmid-associated AMR. We established a geographically and temporally restricted collection of human bloodstream infection (BSI)-associated, livestock-associated (cattle, pig, poultry, and sheep faeces, farm soils) and wastewater treatment work (WwTW)-associated (influent, effluent, waterways upstream/downstream of effluent outlets) Enterobacterales. Isolates were collected between 2008 and 2020 from sites <60 km apart in Oxfordshire, UK. Pangenome analysis of plasmid clusters revealed shared ‘backbones’, with phylogenies suggesting an intertwined ecology where well-conserved plasmid backbones carry diverse accessory functions, including AMR genes. Many plasmid ‘backbones’ were seen across species and niches, raising the possibility that plasmid movement between these followed by rapid accessory gene change could be relatively common. Overall, the signature of identical plasmid sharing is likely to be a highly transient one, implying that plasmid movement might be occurring at greater rates than previously estimated, raising a challenge for future genomic One Health studies.
