Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 1989 Jun;63(6):2550-6.
doi: 10.1128/JVI.63.6.2550-2556.1989.

Role of human immunodeficiency virus type 1-specific protease in core protein maturation and viral infectivity

C Peng  1 , B K Ho, T W Chang, N T Chang
Affiliations

Role of human immunodeficiency virus type 1-specific protease in core protein maturation and viral infectivity

C Peng et al. J Virol. 1989 Jun.

Abstract

It is generally believed that the gag gene product of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) is processed into several core proteins by a virus-specific protease. We used deletion mutation analysis to study the role of HIV-specific protease in the processing of core proteins and its requirement for viral infectivity. Several mutant genomes with deletions in the protease gene were constructed. A mammalian cell line, COS-M6, transfected with the wild-type viral genome was shown to produce virions containing processed core proteins, while COS-M6 cells transfected with two mutated genomes could express only the core protein precursor, Pr56gag. The wild-type transfectant produced infectious virus; both transfectants expressing the mutated genomes also produced virions, and one of them still retained reverse transcriptase activity. However, the mutant viral particles were devoid of infectivity. Virions with a distinct central core and an electron-dense nucleoid budded out from the plasma membrane of COS-M6 cells transfected with the wild-type genome. In contrast, noninfectious virions that budded either into cytoplasmic vacuoles or out from the plasma membrane of COS-M6 cells transfected with mutant genomes contained ring-shaped nucleoids. These results indicate that the HIV-1 protease plays a role not only in the maturation of the core proteins but also in the assembly of the virus and thus is required for viral infectivity.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1979 Sep;76(9):4350-4 - PubMed
    1. EMBO J. 1988 Aug;7(8):2547-53 - PubMed
    1. Science. 1984 Jul 6;225(4657):59-63 - PubMed
    1. Science. 1984 Jul 6;225(4657):69-72 - PubMed
    1. Nucleic Acids Res. 1984 Jul 25;12(14):5707-17 - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources