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
. 1998 Jan;4(1):65-71.
doi: 10.1038/nm0198-065.

HIV-1 Vpr increases viral expression by manipulation of the cell cycle: a mechanism for selection of Vpr in vivo

W C Goh  1 , M E Rogel, C M Kinsey, S F Michael, P N Fultz, M A Nowak, B H Hahn, M Emerman
Affiliations

HIV-1 Vpr increases viral expression by manipulation of the cell cycle: a mechanism for selection of Vpr in vivo

W C Goh et al. Nat Med. 1998 Jan.

Abstract

The human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) encodes a protein, called Vpr, that prevents proliferation of infected cells by arresting them in G2 of the cell cycle. This Vpr-mediated cell-cycle arrest is also conserved among highly divergent simian immunodeficiency viruses, suggesting an important role in the virus life cycle. However, it has been unclear how this could be a selective advantage for the virus. Here we provide evidence that expression of the viral genome is optimal in the G2 phase of the cell cycle, and that Vpr increases virus production by delaying cells at the point of the cell cycle where the long terminal repeat (LTR) is most active. Although Vpr is selected against when virus is adapted to tissue culture, we show that selection for Vpr function in vivo occurs in both humans and chimpanzees infected with HIV-1. These results suggest a novel mechanism for maximizing virus production in the face of rapid killing of infected target cells.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

Publication types

MeSH terms

Substances

LinkOut - more resources