Magic Angle Spinning NMR Reveals Sequence-Dependent Structural Plasticity, Dynamics, and the Spacer Peptide 1 Conformation in HIV-1 Capsid Protein Assemblies

Journal Article · Wed Nov 27 00:00:00 EST 2013 · Journal of the American Chemical Society, 135(47):17793-17803

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1021/ja406907h· OSTI ID:1114095

Han, Yun; Hou, Guangjin; Suiter, Christopher L.; Ahn, Jinwoo; Byeon, In-Ja L.; Lipton, Andrew S.; Burton, Sarah D.; Hung, Ivan; Gorkov, Peter L.; Gan, Zhehong; Brey, William W.; Rice, David M.; Gronenborn, Angela M.; Polenova, Tatyana E.

Maturation of HIV-1 virus into an infectious virion requires cleavage of the Gag polyprotein into its constituent domains and formation of a conical capsid core that encloses viral RNA and a small complement of proteins for replication. The final step of this process is the cleavage of the SP1 peptide from the CA-SP1 maturation intermediate, which triggers the condensation of the CA protein into a conical capsid. The mechanism of this step, including the conformation of the SP1 peptide in CA-SP1, is under intense debate. In this report, we examine the tubular assemblies of CA and the CA-SP1 maturation intermediate using Magic Angle Spinning NMR spectroscopy. At the magnetic fields of 19.9 T and above, tubular CA and CA-SP1 assemblies yield outstanding-quality 2D and 3D MAS NMR spectra, which are amenable to resonance assignments and detailed structural characterization. Dipolar- and scalar-based correlation experiments unequivocally indicate that SP1 peptide is in a random coil conformation and mobile in the assembled CA-SP1. Analysis of two sequence variants reveals that remarkably, the conformation of SP1 tail, of the functionally important CypA loop, and of the loop preceding helix 8 are sequence dependent and modulated by the residue variations at distal sites. These findings challenge the role of SP1 as a conformational switch in the maturation process and establish sequence-dependent conformational plasticity in CA.

• Research Organization: Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States). Environmental Molecular Sciences Lab. (EMSL)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-76RL01830
• OSTI ID: 1114095
• Report Number(s): PNNL-SA-95705; 30456; KP1704020
• Journal Information: Journal of the American Chemical Society, 135(47):17793-17803, Journal Name: Journal of the American Chemical Society, 135(47):17793-17803
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory