The HIV A (sor) gene product is essential for virus infectivity (original) (raw)

Nature volume 328, pages 728–730 (1987)Cite this article

Abstract

The genome of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) contains several open reading frames (ORFs) not present in other viruses. The 'A' gene1, also known as Q_2_P'3, _ORF-1_4 or _sor_5, partially overlaps the pol gene; its protein product has a relative molecular mass of 23,000 (M r 23K) and is present in productively infected cells7–10. The function of this protein is unclear; mutant viruses deleted in 'A' replicate in and kill CD4+ lymphocyte lines8, but the high degree of conservation of the deduced amino-acid sequence in nine different HIV isolates (80%) and the presence of analogous genes in HIV-211 and other lentiviruses suggest that the gene function is an important one. Here we describe a mutant virus deficient in the 'A' gene which produces virion particles normally; however, the particles are & sm;1,000 times less infective than wild type. Transcomplementation experiments partially restore infectivity. The mutant virus spreads efficiently when virus-producing cells are co-cultivated with CD4+ lymphocytes, however, indicating that HIV can spread from cell to cell in a mechanism that does not require the 'A' gene product and probably does not require the production of infective virus particles.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Molecular Microbiology, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, 20892, USA
    Klaus Strebel & Malcolm A. Martin
  2. Laboratory of Immunoregulation, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, 20892, USA
    Tom Folks
  3. Laboratory of Chemical Biology, National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, 20892, USA
    David Cohen
  4. Division of Gastroenterology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 48189, USA
    Daryl Daugherty
  5. Georgetown University, Department of Microbiology, Washington DC, 20007, USA
    Kathleen Clouse

Authors

  1. Klaus Strebel
  2. Daryl Daugherty
  3. Kathleen Clouse
  4. David Cohen
  5. Tom Folks
  6. Malcolm A. Martin

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Strebel, K., Daugherty, D., Clouse, K. et al. The HIV A (sor) gene product is essential for virus infectivity.Nature 328, 728–730 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1038/328728a0

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