Initiation of HIV-2 reverse transcription: a secondary structure model of the RNA-tRNA(Lys3) duplex.

Human immunodeficiency virus type 2 (HIV-2) reverse transcription is initiated from cellular tRNA(Lys3) partially annealed to the RNA viral genome at the primer binding site (PBS). This annealing involves interactions between two highly structured RNA molecules. In contrast to HIV-1, in which the reverse transcription initiation complex has been thoroughly studied, there is still little information regarding a possible model to describe the secondary structure of the template-primer complex in HIV-2. To determine whether HIV-2 RNA sequences flanking the PBS may specifically interact with the natural primer tRNA, we performed site-directed mutagenesis and enzymatic footprinting. An RNA fragment corresponding to the HIV-2 U5 RNA domain and tRNA(Lys3) were probed either in their free form or in the binary complex. Important reactivity changes to nucleases were obtained upon complex formation. In addition to the canonical contacts between the viral PBS and the 3' end acceptor stem of tRNA(Lys3), we identified two additional interacting domains: (i) the U-rich region of the anticodon loop with the A-rich sequence of the internal loop within the U5-prePBS region; (ii) nucleotides 48-54 from the TPsiC domain of tRNA(Lys3) and the 240-247 region of viral U5-RNA. In view of these experimental data and sequence comparison between different HIV-2 isolates, we propose a model for the secondary structure of the HIV-2 template-primer initiation complex.

Reliability of mRNA profiling: verification for samples with different complexities.

Normalization of mRNA profiling data remains an open issue, which turns critical when comparing divergent samples or mRNA populations with different complexities. To address this question, we generated samples with different RNA amounts and complexities by subcellular fractionation of cytoplasmic RNA into the mutually exclusive ribosome-free and polysome-bound RNA pools. For each of the 563 mRNAs analyzed, the hybridization signal corresponding to the cytoplasmic sample equals the sum of signals from the ribosome-free plus the polysome-bound targets (cytoplasmic mRNA = ribosome-free mRNA + polysome-bound mRNA). This intuitive equation was fulfilled only after data normalization following "spiking" of the samples with an exogenous RNA. This is the first demonstration that spiking allows one to correct not only for differences in reaction efficiencies but also to reflect the variations in amount and complexity between the initial mRNA populations.

Translation control: bridging the gap between genomics and proteomics?

mRNA profiling enables the expression levels of thousands of transcripts in a cell to be monitored simultaneously. Nevertheless, analyses in yeast and mammalian cells have demonstrated that mRNA levels alone are unreliable indicators of the corresponding protein abundances. This discrepancy between mRNA and protein levels argues for the relevance of additional control mechanisms besides transcription. As translational control is a major mechanism regulating gene expression, the use of translated mRNA in profiling experiments might depict the proteome more closely than does the use of total mRNA. This would combine the technical potential of genomics with the physiological relevance of proteomics.

Inhibition of HIV-1 replication in vitro and in human infected cells by modified antisense oligonucleotides targeting the tRNALys3/RNA initiation complex.

The untranslated 5' leader region of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) RNA plays an essential role in retroviral replication. It is the first retrotranscribed RNA region, primed from a cellular tRNALys3 partially annealed to the HIV-1 primer binding site (PBS). The structural and functional features of the HIV-1 reverse transcription initiation complex have been thoroughly studied. In this work, we used chemically modified antisense oligonucleotides (AS-ODN) as competitors of the natural tRNALys3 primer for the PBS region. Modified 2'-O-methyl AS-ODN were able to inhibit in vitro HIV-1 reverse transcription and displace the tRNALys3 previously annealed to the PBS. The destabilization of the initiation complex by 2'-O-methyl ODN was a sequence-specific process. We further demonstrated the importance of an anchor region contiguous to the PBS in the annealing of the antisense molecule, allowing the displacement of tRNALys3. The 20-mer 2'-O-methyl molecules were also able to inhibit viral replication in HIV-1-human infected cells, either by blocking cDNA synthesis during the early phase or by interfering with the annealing of the tRNALys3 primer to the PBS during the late phase of the viral cycle. Thus, the highly conserved retroviral initiation complex was shown to be a promising target when using the antisense strategy.

Study of HIV-2 primer-template initiation complex using antisense oligonucleotides.

HIV-2 reverse transcription is initiated by the retroviral DNA polymerase (reverse transcriptase) from a cellular tRNALys3 partially annealed to the primer binding site in the 5'-region of viral RNA. The HIV-2 genome has two A-rich regions upstream of the primer binding site. In contrast to HIV-1 RNA, no direct evidence of interactions with the U-rich anticodon loop of tRNALys3 has been described to date. Here we address the question of the potential role of the interactions between these highly structured regions in the initiation of viral DNA synthesis. To evaluate this we used an antisense approach, first validated in our in vitro HIV-1 reverse transcription system. Annealing of the antisense oligonucleotides to the pre-primer binding site (the upstream region contiguous to the HIV-2 primer binding site) was determined in the presence of native tRNALys3 or synthetic primers. Using natural and chemically modified antisense oligonucleotides we found that interactions between the anticodon of tRNALys3 and an A-rich loop of viral RNA led to an important destabilization of the pre-primer binding site; this region became accessible to anti-pre-primer binding site oligonucleotides in a cooperative manner. These studies allowed to identify an A-rich region in HIV-2ROD RNA capable of interacting with tRNALys3. Better knowledge of these interactions is very important for understanding the primer/template positioning in the early steps of HIV-2 reverse transcription.

Oligonucleotide inhibition of the interaction of HIV-1 Tat protein with the trans-activation responsive region (TAR) of HIV RNA.

The interaction of HIV-1 Tat protein with its recognition sequence, the trans-activation responsive region TAR is a potential target for drug discovery against HIV infection. We show by use of an in vitro competition filter binding interference assay that synthetic oligodeoxyribonucleotides complementary to the HIV-1 TAR RNA apical stem-loop and bulge region inhibit the binding of Tat protein or a Tat peptide (residues 37-72) better than two small molecules that have been shown to bind TAR RNA, Hoechst 33258 and neomycin B. The inhibition is not sensitive to length between 13 and 16 residues or precise positioning but shorter oligonucleotides are less effective. Enhanced inhibition was obtained for a 16-mer 2'-O-methyl oligoribonucleotide but not for C5-propyne pyrimidine-substituted oligonucleotides. Control non-antisense oligonucleotides were occasionally also effective in filter binding interference but only the complementary antisense 2'-O-methyl oligoribonucleotide was effective in gel mobility shift assays in direct TAR binding or in interference with Tat peptide binding to the TAR stem-loop. This is the first demonstration of effective inhibition of the Tat-TAR interaction by nuclease-stabilized oligonucleotide analogues.

Modified (PNA, 2'-O-methyl and phosphoramidate) anti-TAR antisense oligonucleotides as strong and specific inhibitors of in vitro HIV-1 reverse transcription.

Natural beta-phosphodiester 16mer and 15mer antisense oligonucleotides targeted against the HIV-1 and HIV-2 TAR RNAs respectively were previously described as sequence-specific inhibitors of in vitro retroviral reverse transcription. In this work, we tested chemically modified oligonucleotide analogues: alpha-phosphodiester, phosphorothioate, methylphosphonate, peptide nucleic acid or PNA, 2'- o -methyl and (N3'-P5') phosphoramidate versions of the 16mer anti-TAR oligonucleotide. PNA, 2'- O -methyl and (N3'-P5') phosphoramidate oligomers showed a strong inhibitory effect compared with the unmodified 16mer, with reverse transcription inhibition (IC50) values in the nanomolar range. The inhibition was sequence-specific, as scrambled and mismatched control oligonucleotides were not able to inhibit cDNA synthesis. No direct binding of the 2'- O -methyl, PNA or (N3'-P5') phosphoramidate anti-TAR oligonucleotides to the HIV-1 reverse transcriptase was observed. The higher T m obtained with 2'- O -methyl, (N3'-P5') phosphoramidate and PNA molecules concerning the annealing with the stem-loop structure of the TAR RNA, in comparison with the beta-phosphodiester oligonucleotides, is correlated with their high inhibitory effect on reverse transcription.

Initiation of in vitro reverse transcription from tRNA(Lys3) on HIV-1 or HIV-2 RNAs by both type 1 and 2 reverse transcriptases.

HIV reverse transcription is initiated from a cellular tRNA partially associated with the retroviral genome. Here we studied homologous HIV-2 cDNA synthesis using natural or synthetic primers. With natural tRNA(Lys3), synthesis of early products comprising nucleotides +5 to +7 preceded the elongation step leading to synthesis of (-) strong-stop cDNA. In the presence of a poly(A) x oligo(dT) trap, no full-length product was observed while early products were still present, showing a transition between initiation and elongation. With DNA primers only an unspecific elongation was found. Our data show a similar mechanism of reverse transcription initiation by HIV-1 and HIV-2 reverse transcriptases. Furthermore, using a heterologous system we found that HIV-1 RNA, in contrast to data reported in the literature, was an excellent template for HIV-2 reverse transcriptase.

p66/p51 and p51/p51 recombinant forms of reverse transcriptase from human immunodeficiency virus type 1--interactions with primer tRNA(Lys3), initiation of cDNA synthesis, and effect of inhibitors.

Human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1) reverse transcriptase (RT) initiates reverse transcription from tRNA(Lys3). HIV-1 RT is a heterodimer consisting of two polypeptides, p66 and p51. In this work, the possible role of each subunit of RT in the interaction with its natural primer tRNA(Lys3) was studied. Two recombinant forms of HIV-1 RT, heterodimer p66/p51 and homodimer p51/p51, were used. Previously we have expressed and purified recombinant RT p51/p51 which possesses DNA polymerase activity [El Dirani-Diab, R., Andreola, M. L., Nevinsky, G., Tharaud, D., Barr, P. J., Litvak, S. & Tarrago-Litvak, L. (1992) FEBS Lett. 301, 23-28]. Here we show that HIV-1 RT p51/p51 displays certain properties very similar to the p66/p51 recombinant enzyme. The homodimer was able to anneal tRNA(Lys3) to the primer-binding site of the HIV-1 RNA template leading to a functional complex capable of synthesizing cDNA. Further, the p51/p51 enzyme behaved like RT p66/p51 concerning the strong inhibition produced by a non-nucleoside RT inhibitor. These data show that for RT p51/p51, one of the subunits of the homodimer adopts a conformation similar to the catalytic subunit (p66) present in the heterodimeric form. Part of this work was devoted to the study of the complex between the recombinant forms of HIV-1 RT and its primer tRNA. Each enzymatic form was cross-linked to tRNA(Lys3) in the presence of a platinum derivative, giving different ribonucleoprotein complexes of molecular masses higher than 100 kDa, suggesting that primer tRNA may interact with both subunits in the heterodimeric enzyme. After RNase A treatment of the complex RT p66/p51 x tRNA, the label was mainly found to migrate with the p66 subunit, although some cross-linking was also found associated to the p51 subunit. These results show that the p66 and p51 subunits of RT interact with tRNA(Lys3). Moreover, cross-linking of tRNA(Lys3) with HIV-1 RT p66/p51 in the presence of a DNA template containing the primer-binding-site sequence yielded an enzymatically active complex.

Specific inhibition of in vitro reverse transcription using antisense oligonucleotides targeted to the TAR regions of HIV-1 and HIV-2.

Antisense oligonucleotides (ODNs) overlapping the stem-loop structure of the trans-activating responsive (TAR) element at the 5' end of HIV-1 and HIV-2 viral RNAs were tested for their inhibitory effect on cDNA synthesis by HIV-1 and HIV-2 reverse transcriptases (RT). Inhibition of reverse transcription is sequence-specific and enhanced by the presence of the RT-associated RNase H activity. The degree of inhibition obtained with the anti-TAR antisense is significantly higher than with other HIV-1 targeted antisense ODNs used before [1]. Gel retardation showed a stable specific complex between the 16- and 25-mer anti-TAR HIV-1 selected ODNs and the target region. No complex was observed with a non-inhibitor 22-mer anti-TAR ODN and with the corresponding control sequences. Targeting of the first stem-loop in the 5' region of HIV-2 RNA by anti-TAR ODNs inhibited very strongly reverse transcription by HIV-2 RT. The structure of the antisense and the target sequence affect annealing efficiency and hence the degree of inhibition of reverse transcription.