2018 Research Highlights
Capsid-CPSF6 interaction licenses nuclear HIV-1 trafficking to sites of viral DNA integration
The protein CPSF6 is shown to regulate the location where HIV-1 integrates in an infected cell’s genome.
PubMed PMID: 30173955
PubMedCentral PMCID: PMC6368089
Comparing alchemical and physical pathway methods for computing the absolute binding free energy of charged ligands
Foundational methods for predicting the binding strength of ligands to proteins are explored.
PubMed PMID: 29896599
PubMedCentral PMCID: PMC6061996
Genetic and mechanistic basis for APOBEC3H alternative splicing, retrovirus restriction, and counteraction by HIV-1 protease
Analysis of variants of APOBEC3H reveal that HIV-1 protease plays a role in countering our cell’s defenses.
PubMed PMID: 30297863
PubMedCentral PMCID: PMC6175962
Quantitative and orthogonal formation and reactivity of SuFEx platforms
New methods are presented for performing SuFEx reactions tethered to surfaces.
PubMed PMID: 29949211
PubMedCentral PMCID: PMC6099289
SuFEx chemistry of thionyltetrafluoride (SOF(4)) with organolithium nucleophiles: Synthesis of sulfonimidoyl fluorides, sulfoximines, sulfonimidamides, and sulfonimidates
Thionyl tetrafluoride is used to create novel molecules through SuFEx click chemistry.
Gao B, Li S, Wu P, Moses JE, Sharpless KB. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. Engl. 57,1939-1943 (2018).
PubMed PMID: 29314580
PubMedCentral PMCID: PMC6005182
CellPAINT: Interactive Illustration of Dynamic Mesoscale Cellular Environments
New software allows researchers and educators to create illustrations of HIV and host cells.
Gardner A, Autin L, Barbaro B, Olson AJ, Goodsell DS. IEEE Comput Graph Appl. 38, 51-66 (2018).
PubMed PMID: 30668455
PubMedCentral PMCID: PMC6456043
Coevolutionary landscape of kinase family proteins: Sequence probabilities and functional motifs
A coevolutionary model of sequence variations is used to identify functional regions in a protein family.
Haldane A, Flynn WF, He P, Levy RM. Biophys. J. 114, 21-31 (2018).
PubMed PMID: 29320688
PubMedCentral PMCID: PMC5773752
Effect of tRNA on the maturation of HIV-1 reverse transcriptase
Binding of transfer RNA is shown to induce asymmetry in reverse transcripase, enhancing its maturation.
PubMed PMID: 29751015
PubMedCentral PMCID: PMC5988984
Interactome analysis of the lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus nucleoprotein in infected cells reveals ATPase Na+/K+ transporting subunit Alpha 1 and prohibitin as host-cell factors involved in the life cycle of mammarenaviruses
Proteomics, genetics, and pharmacological validation identify an ion pump as a pro-viral factor in mammalian arenaviruses.
PubMed PMID: 29462184
PubMedCentral PMCID: PMC5834214
Mutation signatures including APOBEC in cancer cell lines
The APOBEC mutation signature is enriched in some forms of cancer.
Jarvis MC, Ebrahimi D, Temiz NA, Harris RS. JNCI Cancer Spectr. 2018 Jan;2(1):pky002.
PubMed PMID: 29888758
PubMedCentral PMCID: PMC5993214
4′-Ethynyl-2-fluoro-2′-deoxyadenosine, MK-8591: a novel HIV-1 reverse transcriptase translocation inhibitor
The structure and function of the potent RT inhibitor EFdA is reviewed.
Markowitz M, Sarafianos SG. Curr Opin HIV AIDS 13, 294-299 (2018).
PubMed PMID: 29697468
Identification of a Structural Element in HIV-1 Gag Required for Virus Particle Assembly and Maturation
A proline-rich loop in the capsid domain plays an essential role in formation of HIV virions.
PubMed PMID: 30327442
PubMedCentral PMCID: PMC6191540
Perspectives on structural molecular biology visualization: From past to present
A review of technical advances in visualization that support and drive research in structural molecular biology.
Olson AJ. J. Mol. Biol. 430, 3997-4012 (2018).
PubMed PMID: 30009769
PubMedCentral PMCID: PMC6186497
CD46 null packaging cell line improves measles lentiviral vector production and gene delivery to hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells
New methods to improve gene delivery to difficult-to-transduce cell types are explored
PubMed PMID: 30603655
PubMedCentral PMCID: PMC6310745
mTOR inhibitors lower an intrinsic barrier to virus infection mediated by IFITM3
The molecular basis of action of rapamycin and its role in virus entry is explored
Shi G, Ozog S, Torbett BE, Compton AA. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2018 Oct 23;115(43):E10069-E10078.
PubMed PMID: 30301809
PubMedCentral PMCID: PMC6205447
Visualization of HIV-1 RNA Transcription from Integrated HIV-1 DNA in Reactivated Latently Infected Cells
Flourescence microscopy is used to watch the reactivation of latent HIV-1.
PubMed PMID: 30274333
PubMedCentral PMCID: PMC6212899
Human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 Gag domains have distinct RNA-binding specificities with implications for RNA packaging and dimerization
HIVE researchers discover that HTLV-1 matrix protein is involved in packaging of genomic RNA into virions.
PubMed PMID: 30217825
PubMedCentral PMCID: PMC6200928
Improving Prediction Accuracy of Binding Free Energies and Poses of HIV Integrase Complexes Using the Binding Energy Distribution Analysis Method with Flattening Potentials
HIVE Center researchers develop new methods for accurate prediction of binding free energies.
Xia J, Flynn W, Levy RM. J Chem Inf Model. 58, 1356-1371 (2018).
PubMed PMID: 29927237
PubMedCentral PMCID: PMC6287956
Structural Basis for the RNA-Guided Ribonuclease Activity of CRISPR-Cas13d
CryoEM reveals the atomic details of a CRISPR-Cas endonuclease.
PubMed PMID: 30241607
HIV-1 integrase-targeted short peptides derived from a viral protein R sequence
Small peptides from accessory protein Vpr provide a path to a new class of integrase inhibitors.
PubMed PMID: 30049955
PubMedCentral PMCID: PMC6222646
HDX-MS reveals dysregulated checkpoints that compromise discrimination against self RNA during RIG-I mediated autoimmunity
HDX-MS is used to explore the flexibility and function of a protein involved in immune surveillance of viral RNAs.
PubMed PMID: 30560918
PubMedCentral PMCID: PMC6299088
