M. Tobiume et al., Requirement of Nef for HIV-1 infectivity is biased by the expression levels of Env in the virus-producing cells and CD4 in the target cells, ARCH VIROL, 146(9), 2001, pp. 1739-1751
The nef gene of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) encodes a 27 to
34 kDa myristoylated protein, which enhances viral infectivity in a single
-round infection assay. The level of Nef enhancement of HIV-1 infectivity d
epends on the viral strains, on the target cells, and on the cells used for
propagating the viruses. In this study, we aimed at clarifying the molecul
ar basis of these differences in the requirement for Nef. We found that the
requirement for Nef was increased when we decreased the quantity of Env pr
otein in the virus-producing cells or the quantity of CD4 in the target cel
ls. Both the wild-type and Nef-defective HIV-1 viruses were propagated in 2
93T cells, which did not express any CD4; therefore, Nef-induced CD4 down-r
egulation did not explain this phenomenon. Moreover, we did not observe any
increase in the viral entry or fusion activity of gp120(env) in the wild-t
ype HIV-1 compared to that in the Nef-defective HIV-1. Thus, we propose tha
t Env on the virion and CD4 on the target cells have inhibitory effects on
the post-entry step of the HIV-1 replication cycle, and that Nef functions
to counteract this negative effect.