Even though highly active anti-retroviral therapy is able to keep HIV-1 replication under control, the virus can lie in a dormant state within the host genome, known as a latent reservoir, and poses a threat to re-emerge at any time. However, novel technologies aimed at disrupting HIV-1 provirus may be capable of eradicating viral genomes from infected individuals. In this study, we showed the potential of the CRISPR/Cas9 system to edit the HIV-1 genome and block its expression. When LTR-targeting CRISPR/Cas9 components were transfected into HIV-1 LTR expression-dormant and -inducible T cells, a significant loss of LTR-driven expression was observed after stimulation. Sequence analysis confirmed that this CRISPR/Cas9 system efficiently cleaved and mutated LTR target sites. More importantly, this system was also able to remove internal viral genes from the host cell chromosome. Our results suggest that the CRISPR/Cas9 system may be a useful tool for curing HIV-1 infection.

Transposable elements and their remnants constitute a substantial fraction of eukaryotic genomes. Host genomes have evolved defence mechanisms, including chromatin modifications and RNA interference, to regulate transposable elements. Here we describe a genome surveillance mechanism for retrotransposons by transposase-derived centromeric protein CENP-B homologues of the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe. CENP-B homologues of S. pombe localize at and recruit histone deacetylases to silence Tf2 retrotransposons. CENP-Bs also repress solo long terminal repeats (LTRs) and LTR-associated genes. Tf2 elements are clustered into 'Tf' bodies, the organization of which depends on CENP-Bs that display discrete nuclear structures. Furthermore, CENP-Bs prevent an 'extinct' Tf1 retrotransposon from re-entering the host genome by blocking its recombination with extant Tf2, and silence and immobilize a Tf1 integrant that becomes sequestered into Tf bodies. Our results reveal a probable ancient retrotransposon surveillance pathway important for host genome integrity, and highlight potential conflicts between DNA transposons and retrotransposons, major transposable elements believed to have greatly moulded the evolution of genomes.

The enrichment of mobile genetic elements in heterochromatin may be due, in part, to targeted integration. The chromoviruses are Ty3/gypsy retrotransposons with chromodomains at their integrase C termini. Chromodomains are logical determinants for targeting to heterochromatin, because the chromodomain of heterochromatin protein 1 (HP1) typically recognizes histone H3 K9 methylation, an epigenetic mark characteristic of heterochromatin. We describe three groups of chromoviruses based on amino acid sequence relationships of their integrase C termini. Genome sequence analysis indicates that representative chromoviruses from each group are enriched in gene-poor regions of the genome relative to other retrotransposons, and when fused to fluorescent marker proteins, the chromodomains target proteins to specific subnuclear foci coincident with heterochromatin. The chromodomain of the fungal element, MAGGY, interacts with histone H3 dimethyl-and trimethyl-K9, and when the MAGGY chromodomain is fused to integrase of the Schizosaccharomyces pombe Tf1 retrotransposon, new Tf1 insertions are directed to sites of H3 K9 methylation. Repetitive sequences such as transposable elements trigger the RNAi pathway resulting in their epigenetic modification. Our results suggest a dynamic interplay between retrotransposons and heterochromatin, wherein mobile elements recognize heterochromatin at the time of integration and then perpetuate the heterochromatic mark by triggering epigenetic modification.[Supplemental material is available online at www.genome.org.] (Girard et al. 2006;Grivna et al. 2006;Vagin et al. 2006). Mobile element insertions that decorate eukaryotic genomes, therefore, frequently define unique chromatin domains. Whereas the genetic consequences of transposition in terms of mutation and genome rearrangement have long been recognized, the biological consequences of their epigenetic marks, which include effects on gene expression and the formation of heterochromatin, are only beginning to be appreciated (Slotkin and Martienssen 2007).Underlying the genetic and epigenetic impact of mobile elements is integration site choice. Although forces such as selection or recombination contribute to the nonrandom distribution of mobile elements in eukaryotic genomes, an increasing number of studies indicate that many mobile elements target integration to specific chromosomal sites (Bushman 2003). For some elements, target sites are determined by recognizing specific DNA sequences, whereas for others, including several retrotransposons and retroviruses, chromatin impacts target site choice. The Ty1 and Ty3 retrotransposons of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, for example, integrate near sites of RNA polymerase III (pol III) transcription by recognizing pol III transcription complexes or chromatin states associated with pol III transcription (Yieh et al. 2000(Yieh et al. , 2002Bachman et al. 2005;Mou et al. 2006). The Tf1 retrotransposon of Schizosaccharomyces pombe recognizes certain RNA polymerase II (pol II) promoters (Singleton and L...

Dengue virus (DENV) is one of the most important arthropod-borne pathogens that cause life-threatening diseases in humans. However, no vaccine or specific antiviral is available for dengue. As seen in other RNA viruses, the innate immune system plays a key role in controlling DENV infection and disease outcome. Although the interferon (IFN) response, which is central to host protective immunity, has been reported to limit DENV replication, the molecular details of how DENV infection is modulated by IFN treatment are elusive. In this study, by employing a gain-of-function screen using a type I IFN-treated cell-derived cDNA library, we identified a previously uncharacterized gene, C19orf66, as an IFN-stimulated gene (ISG) that inhibits DENV replication, which we named Repressor of yield of DENV (RyDEN). Overexpression and gene knockdown experiments revealed that expression of RyDEN confers resistance to all serotypes of DENV in human cells. RyDEN expression also limited the replication of hepatitis C virus, Kunjin virus, Chikungunya virus, herpes simplex virus type 1, and human adenovirus. Importantly, RyDEN was considered to be a crucial effector molecule in the IFN-mediated anti-DENV response. When affinity purification-mass spectrometry analysis was performed, RyDEN was revealed to form a complex with cellular mRNA-binding proteins, poly(A)-binding protein cytoplasmic 1 (PABPC1), and La motif-related protein 1 (LARP1). Interestingly, PABPC1 and LARP1 were found to be positive modulators of DENV replication. Since RyDEN influenced intracellular events on DENV replication and, suppression of protein synthesis from DENV-based reporter construct RNA was also observed in RyDEN-expressing cells, our data suggest that RyDEN is likely to interfere with the translation of DENV via interaction with viral RNA and cellular mRNA-binding proteins, resulting in the inhibition of virus replication in infected cells.