retroviruses
Minireview | Host-Microbe BiologyIt’s the Little Things (in Viral RNA)Chemical modifications of viral RNA are an integral part of the viral life cycle and are present in most classes of viruses. To date, more than 170 RNA modifications have been discovered in all types of cellular RNA. Only a few, however, have been found in viral RNA, and the function of most of these has yet to be elucidated. Those few we have discovered and whose functions we understand have a varied effect on each virus. They...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyHIV Vpr Modulates the Host DNA Damage Response at Two Independent Steps to Damage DNA and Repress Double-Strand DNA Break RepairThe DNA damage response (DDR) is a signaling cascade that safeguards the genome from genotoxic agents, including human pathogens. However, the DDR has also been utilized by many pathogens, such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), to enhance infection. To properly treat HIV-positive individuals, we must understand how the virus usurps our own cellular processes. Here, we have found that an important yet poorly understood gene in HIV,...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyIFITM3 Reduces Retroviral Envelope Abundance and Function and Is Counteracted by glycoGagThe viral envelope glycoprotein, known as “Env” in Retroviridae, is found on the virion surface and facilitates virus entry into cells by mediating cell attachment and fusion. Env is a major structural component of retroviruses and is targeted by all arms of the immune response, including adaptive and innate immunity. Less is known about how cell-intrinsic immunity prevents retrovirus replication at the level of individual...
Editor's Pick Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyA Protein Antagonist of Activation-Induced Cytidine Deaminase Encoded by a Complex Mouse RetrovirusComplex retroviruses, such as human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1), cause many human deaths. These retroviruses produce lifelong infections through viral proteins that interfere with host immunity. The complex retrovirus mouse mammary tumor virus (MMTV) allows for studies of host-pathogen interactions not possible in humans. A mutation preventing expression of the MMTV Rem protein in two different MMTV strains decreased proviral...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyInfection of B Cell Follicle-Resident Cells by Friend Retrovirus Occurs during Acute Infection and Is Maintained during Viral PersistenceHuman immunodeficiency virus is notorious for its ability to avoid clearance by therapeutic interventions, which is partly attributed to the establishment of reservoirs in latently infected cells and cells that reside in immunologically privileged B cell follicles. In the work presented here, we show that cells of the B cell follicle are equally infected by a simple mouse gammaretrovirus. Using fluorescently labeled Friend retrovirus,...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyEffects of Friend Virus Infection and Regulatory T Cells on the Antigen Presentation Function of B CellsThe primary role of B cells in immunity is considered the production of pathogen-specific antibodies, but another, less-well-studied, function of B cells is to present foreign antigens to T cells to stimulate their activation and proliferation. Dendritic cells (DCs) are considered the most important antigen-presenting cells (APCs) for CD8+ T cells, but DCs lose APC function when infected with Friend virus (FV), a model...
- Research ArticleDistinct Pathway of Human T-Cell Leukemia Virus Type 1 Gag Punctum Biogenesis Provides New Insights into Enveloped Virus Assembly
This report describes the results of experiments examining the pathway by which the human retroviral Gag protein is recruited to sites along the inner leaflet of the plasma membrane where Gag punctum biogenesis occurs. In particular, clever and sensitive experimental methods were devised to image in living cells fluorescently labeled Gag protein derivatives from human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1) and human immunodeficiency...
- Research ArticleB Cell Requirement for Robust Regulatory T Cell Responses to Friend Retrovirus Infection
When infectious agents invade a host, numerous immunological mechanisms are deployed to limit their replication, neutralize their spread, and destroy the host cells harboring the infection. Since immune responses also have a strong capacity to damage host cells and tissues, their magnitude, potency, and duration are under regulatory control. Regulatory T cells are an important component of this control, and the mechanisms that induce...