Steady progress has been made in defining both the viral and cellular determinants of retroviral assembly and release. Although it is widely accepted that targeting of the Gag polypeptide to the plasma membrane is critical for proper assembly of HIV-1, the intracellular interactions and trafficking of Gag to its assembly sites in the infected cell are poorly understood. HIV-1 Gag was shown to interact and co-localize with calmodulin (CaM), a ubiquitous and highly conserved Ca 2؉ -binding protein expressed in all eukaryotic cells, and is implicated in a variety of cellular functions. Binding of HIV-1 Gag to CaM is dependent on calcium and is mediated by the N-terminally myristoylated matrix (myr(؉)MA) domain. Herein, we demonstrate that CaM binds to myr(؉)MA with a dissociation constant (K d ) of ϳ2 M and 1:1 stoichiometry. Strikingly, our data revealed that CaM binding to MA induces the extrusion of the myr group. However, in contrast to all known examples of CaM-binding myristoylated proteins, our data show that the myr group is exposed to solvent and not involved in CaM binding. The interactions between CaM and myr(؉)MA are endothermic and entropically driven, suggesting that hydrophobic contacts are critical for binding. As revealed by NMR data, both CaM and MA appear to engage substantial regions and/or undergo significant conformational changes upon binding. We believe that our findings will provide new insights on how Gag may interact with CaM during the HIV replication cycle.Gag is the major structural protein encoded by HIV-1 and contains all of the viral elements required to drive virus assembly (1-3). HIV-1 Gag targeting to the plasma membrane (PM) 2 is critical for proper and efficient assembly to produce progeny virions (1, 3-9). During virus maturation, Gag is cleaved into myristoylated matrix (myr(ϩ)MA), capsid, and nucleocapsid proteins, inducing major morphological reorganization of the virus (1, 2, 4, 5, 10). In many cell types, HIV-1 Gag budding and assembly has been shown to occur predominantly on the PM (4 -9, 11-18). Gag binding to the PM is mediated by the MA domain and enhanced by multimerization. Proper assembly and efficient binding of Gag to the PM requires a myristyl (myr) group as a membrane anchor and a cluster of basic residues localized within the N-terminal domain to facilitate interactions with acidic phospholipids (1,2,19,20).Steady progress has been made in defining both the viral and cellular determinants of HIV-1 assembly and release (6). However, the trafficking pathway used by Gag to reach assembly sites in the infected cell is poorly understood. Studies by Freed, Ono, and co-workers (21-23) demonstrated that the ultimate localization of HIV-1 Gag at virus assembly sites is dependent on phosphatidylinositol-(4,5)-bisphosphate (PI(4,5)P 2 ), a cellular factor localized at the inner leaflet of the PM (24 -26). Our structural studies revealed that PI(4,5)P 2 binds directly to HIV-1 MA, inducing a conformational change that triggers myr exposure (27). In addition to PI(4,5)P 2 ...

Human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1) encodes a polypeptide called Gag that is able to form virus-like particles in vitro in the absence of any cellular or viral constituents. During the late phase of the HIV-1 infection, Gag polyproteins are transported to the plasma membrane (PM) for assembly. In the past two decades, in vivo, in vitro, and structural studies have shown that Gag trafficking and targeting to the PM are orchestrated events that are dependent on multiple factors including cellular proteins and specific membrane lipids. The matrix (MA) domain of Gag has been the focus of these studies as it appears to be engaged in multiple intracellular interactions that are suggested to be critical for virus assembly and replication. The interaction between Gag and the PM is perhaps the most understood. It is now established that the ultimate localization of Gag on punctate sites on the PM is mediated by specific interactions between the MA domain of Gag and phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate [PI(4,5)P2], a minor lipid localized on the inner leaflet of the PM. Structure-based studies revealed that binding of PI(4,5)P2 to MA induces minor conformational changes, leading to exposure of the myristyl (myr) group. Exposure of the myr group is also triggered by binding of calmodulin, enhanced by factors that promote protein self-association like the capsid domain of Gag, and is modulated by pH. Despite the steady progress in defining both the viral and cellular determinants of retroviral assembly and release, Gag’s intracellular interactions and trafficking to its assembly sites in the infected cell are poorly understood. In this review, we summarize the current understanding of the structural and functional role of MA in HIV replication.

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The extrinsic apoptotic pathway is initiated by binding of a Fas ligand to the ectodomain of the surface death receptor Fas protein. Subsequently, the intracellular death domain of Fas (FasDD) and that of the Fas-associated protein (FADD) interact to form the core of the death-inducing signaling complex (DISC), a crucial step for activation of caspases that induce cell death. Previous studies have shown that calmodulin (CaM) is recruited into the DISC in cholangiocarcinoma cells and specifically interacts with FasDD to regulate the apoptotic/survival signaling pathway. Inhibition of CaM activity in DISC stimulates apoptosis significantly. We have recently shown that CaM forms a ternary complex with FasDD (2:1 CaM:FasDD). However, the molecular mechanism by which CaM binds to two distinct FasDD motifs is not fully understood. Here, we employed mass spectrometry, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), biophysical, and biochemical methods to identify the binding regions of FasDD and provide a molecular basis for the role of CaM in Fas–mediated apoptosis. Proteolytic digestion and mass spectrometry data revealed that peptides spanning residues 209–239 (Fas-Pep1) and 251–288 (Fas-Pep2) constitute the two CaM-binding regions of FasDD. To determine the molecular mechanism of interaction, we have characterized the binding of recombinant/synthetic Fas-Pep1 and Fas-Pep2 peptides with CaM. Our data show that both peptides engage the N- and C-terminal lobes of CaM simultaneously. Binding of Fas-Pep1 to CaM is entropically driven while that of Fas-Pep2 to CaM is enthalpically driven, indicating that a combination of electrostatic and hydrophobic forces contribute to the stabilization of the FasDD–CaM complex. Our data suggest that because Fas-Pep1 and Fas-Pep2 are involved in extensive intermolecular contacts with the death domain of FADD, binding of CaM to these regions may hinder its ability to bind to FADD, thus greatly inhibiting the initiation of apoptotic signaling pathway.

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Introduction: It is well described that changes in the aortic media are crucial in the development of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms (AAA), however the involvement of the endothelium is not as clear. The endothelium is the first vascular layer exposed to blood flow and aneurysms preferentially form in areas of disturbed flow. The regulatory mechanisms as to why aneurysms form at these sites remains unclear. Here we propose that the transcription coactivator peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator 1-alpha (PGC1α) plays a pivotal role in the endothelium’s response to AAA formation in a shear responsive manner. Methods: 10-12 week old male mice deficient in endothelial specific PGC1α (KO) and their corresponding wild type background mice (WT) were treated with 0.75 mg/kg/day of Ang II. Our primary endpoints were measurement of the maximal width of the suprarenal aortas, frequency, and complexity based on the Daugherty classification. To determine the effects of shear, HAECs exposed to steady flow (15 dyn/cm 2 ) and disturbed flow (0±6 dyn/cm 2 at 1 Hz) for 12 hours were compared to determine if mRNA expression were different for PGC1α and SIRT1. Results: AAA incidence and severity were increased in ANG II-infused KO compared to the WT mice (100% vs. 20%, respectively). Measurements of excised aortas showed that KO mice exhibited larger AAA fold-increase compared to WT (2.00 ± 0.11 fold increase vs. 0.43 ± 0.19 fold increase, p-value 0.0002). The KO male mice also exhibited a more complex phenotype. HAECs that underwent disturbed flow had a significant decrease in expression of SIRT1 (p = 0.02) and trended towards a decrease in expression of PGC1α (p = 0.06). Conclusions: Our data strongly suggests that knockout of endothelial specific PGC1α leads to more frequent, complex and larger AAAs primarily in the suprarenal aorta, which is an area of disturbed flow. Interestingly, the addition of ANG II alone was able to induce AAA formation in our model. Additionally, we show that PGC1α and SIRT1 are regulated in a shear responsive manner. Taken together, endothelial PGC1α likely plays a regulatory role in AAA formation through shear-related mechanisms.

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