Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Simian Immunodeficiency Virus Maintain High Levels of Infectivity in the Complete Absence of Mucin-Type O-Glycosylation

Abstract

A highly conserved threonine near the C terminus of gp120 of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) was investigated for its contributions to envelope protein function and virion infectivity. When this highly conserved Thr residue was substituted with anything other than serine (the other amino acid that can accept O-glycosylation), the resulting virus was noninfectious. We found that this Thr was critical for the association of gp120 with the virion and that amino acid substitution increased the amount of dissociated gp120 in the cell culture supernatant. When HIV virions were generated in cells overexpressing polypeptide -acetylgalactosaminyltransferase 1 (GalNAcT1), viral infectivity was increased 2.5-fold compared to that of virus produced in wild-type HEK293T cells; infectivity was increased 8-fold when the Thr499Ser mutant was used. These infectivity enhancements were not observed when GalNAcT3 was used. Using HEK293T knockout cell lines totally devoid of the ability to perform O-linked glycosylation, we demonstrated production of normal levels of virions and normal levels of infectivity in the complete absence of O-linked carbohydrate. Our data indicate that O-glycosylation is not necessary for the natural replication cycle of HIV and SIV. Nonetheless, it remains theoretically possible that the repertoire of GalNAc transferase isoforms in natural target cells for HIV and SIV could result in O-glycosylation of the threonine residue in question and that this could boost the infectivity of virions beyond the levels seen in the absence of such O-glycosylation. Approximately 50% of the mass of the gp120 envelope glycoprotein of both HIV and SIV is N-linked carbohydrate. One of the contributions of this N-linked carbohydrate is to shield conserved peptide sequences from recognition by humoral immunity. This N-linked glycosylation is one of the reasons that primary isolates of HIV and SIV are so heavily resistant to antibody-mediated neutralization. Much less studied is any potential contribution from O-linked glycosylation. The literature on this topic to date is somewhat confusing and ambiguous. Our studies described in this report demonstrate unambiguously that O-linked glycosylation is not necessary for the natural replication cycle of HIV and SIV. However, the door is not totally closed because of the diversity of numerous GalNAc transferase enzymes that initiate O-linked carbohydrate attachment and the theoretical possibility that natural target cells for HIV and SIV could potentially complete such O-linked carbohydrate attachment to further increase infectivity.

Global aspects of viral glycosylation

“…This suggests that the O-glycans might be required for protein-protein interaction (Stone et al 2016). Similarly, in HIV gp120 O-glycosylation of a conserved threonine that is crucial for the association with gp41 has recently been shown to enhance infectivity and incorporation of gp120 into virions, though the virus maintains normal functionality in the absence of the O-glycan (Termini et al 2017).…”

Viral glycoproteomes: technologies for characterization and outlook for vaccine design

“…The O‐glycosite is situated close to a furin cleavage site and has been speculated to play a role in virus assembly. It has, however, been demonstrated that O‐glycosylation is not required for virion assembly or infectivity, but can enhance these processes .…”

“…A similar effect can be achieved using well‐characterized metabolic inhibitors of glycosylation . Such approaches can help determine an overall impact of a certain type of glycosylation on virus function . For example, cell lines defective in glycosyltransferase activity were used for propagation of HSV‐1, showing N‐ and O‐linked glycan maturation is important for virus spread and progeny generation, respectively .…”

“…Furthermore, reduction in complex‐type N‐glycan sialylation was associated with reduced egress, yield, and spread . Similarly, cells unable to generate O‐glycans were used to assess HIV‐1 propagation, with no profound effects on infectivity identified . Identification of glycosylation pathways and specific glycosites important for viral functions can help develop antivirals and guide rational vaccine design, as discussed in the following sections.…”

Glycosylation profiling to evaluate glycoprotein immunogens against HIV-1

“…It is therefore necessary to employ chemical release methods, such as reductive β-elimination or hydrazinolysis. However, the role of O-glycosylation in Env glycobiology is uncertain and currently there is little supporting evidence for a significant functional or structural role [37]. Studies have previously identified O-glycans on recombinant Env at positions T499 and T606 [13,16,38,39], although a quantitative study also showed that T499 on a native-like trimer mimic was less than 1 % occupied with O-glycans [18].…”