Role of the PWWP domain of lens epithelium-derived growth factor (LEDGF)/p75 cofactor in lentiviral integration targeting

LEDGF/p75 is a chromatin-interacting, cellular cofactor of HIV integrase that dictates lentiviral integration site preference. In this study we determined the role of the PWWP domain of LEDGF/p75 in tethering and targeting of the lentiviral pre-integration complex, employing potent knockdown cell lines allowing analysis in the absence of endogenous LEDGF/p75. Deletion of the PWWP domain resulted in a diffuse subnuclear distribution pattern, loss of interaction with condensed chromatin, and failure to rescue proviral integration, integration site distribution, and productive virus replication. Substitution of the PWWP domain of LEDGF/p75 with that of hepatoma-derived growth factor or HDGF-related protein-2 rescued viral replication and lentiviral integration site distribution in LEDGF/p75-depleted cells. Replacing all chromatin binding elements of LEDGF/p75 with full-length hepatoma-derived growth factor resulted in more integration in genes combined with a preference for CpG islands. In addition, we showed that any PWWP domain targets SMYD1-like sequences. Analysis of integration preferences of lentiviral vectors for epigenetic marks indicates that the PWWP domain is critical for interactions specifying the relationship of integration sites to regions enriched in specific histone post-translational modifications.     

Chromatinized templates reveal the requirement for the LEDGF/p75 PWWP domain during HIV-1 integration in vitro

Integration is an essential step in the retroviral lifecycle, and the lentiviral integrase binding protein lens epithelium-derived growth factor (LEDGF)/p75 plays a crucial role during human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) cDNA integration. In vitro, LEDGF/p75 stimulates HIV-1 integrase activity into naked target DNAs. Here, we demonstrate that this chromatin-associated protein also stimulates HIV-1 integration into reconstituted polynucleosome templates. Activation of integration depended on the LEDGF/p75-integrase interaction with either type of template. A differential requirement for the dominant DNA and chromatin-binding elements of LEDGF/p75 was however observed when using naked DNA versus polynucleosomes. With naked DNA, the complete removal of these N-terminal elements was required to abate cofactor function. With polynucleosomes, activation mainly depended on the PWWP domain, and to a lesser extent on nearby AT-hook DNA-binding motifs. GST pull-down assays furthermore revealed a role for the PWWP domain in binding to nucleosomes. These results are completely consistent with recent ex vivo studies that characterized the PWWP and integrase-binding domains of LEDGF/p75 as crucial for restoring HIV-1 infection to LEDGF-depleted cells. Our studies therefore establish novel in vitro conditions, highlighting chromatinized DNA as target acceptor templates, for physiologically relevant studies of LEDGF/p75 in lentiviral cDNA integration.     

Identification and characterization of PWWP domain residues critical for LEDGF/p75 chromatin binding and human immunodeficiency virus type 1 infectivity

Lens epithelium-derived growth factor (LEDGF)/p75 functions as a bimodal tether during lentiviral DNA integration: its C-terminal integrase-binding domain interacts with the viral preintegration complex, whereas the N-terminal PWWP domain can bind to cellular chromatin. The molecular basis for the integrase-LEDGF/p75 interaction is understood, while the mechanism of chromatin binding is unknown. The PWWP domain is homologous to other protein interaction modules that together comprise the Tudor clan. Based on primary amino acid sequence and three-dimensional structural similarities, 24 residues of the LEDGF/p75 PWWP domain were mutagenized to garner essential details of its function during human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection. Mutating either Trp-21 or Ala-51, which line the inner wall of a hydrophobic cavity that is common to Tudor clan members, disrupts chromatin binding and virus infectivity. Consistent with a role for chromatin-associated LEDGF/p75 in stimulating integrase activity during infection, recombinant W21A protein is preferentially defective for enhancing integration into chromatinized target DNA in vitro. The A51P mutation corresponds to the S270P change in DNA methyltransferase 3B that causes human immunodeficiency, centromeric instability, and facial anomaly syndrome, revealing a critical role for this amino acid position in the chromatin binding functions of varied PWWP domains. Our results furthermore highlight the requirement for a conserved Glu in the hydrophobic core that mediates interactions between other Tudor clan members and their substrates. This initial systematic mutagenesis of a PWWP domain identifies amino acid residues critical for chromatin binding function and the consequences of their changes on HIV-1 integration and infection.     

Structural basis for high-affinity binding of LEDGF PWWP to mononucleosomes

Lens epithelium-derived growth factor (LEDGF/p75) tethers lentiviral preintegration complexes (PICs) to chromatin and is essential for effective HIV-1 replication. LEDGF/p75 interactions with lentiviral integrases are well characterized, but the structural basis for how LEDGF/p75 engages chromatin is unknown. We demonstrate that cellular LEDGF/p75 is tightly bound to mononucleosomes (MNs). Our proteomic experiments indicate that this interaction is direct and not mediated by other cellular factors. We determined the solution structure of LEDGF PWWP and monitored binding to the histone H3 tail containing trimethylated Lys36 (H3K36me3) and DNA by NMR. Results reveal two distinct functional interfaces of LEDGF PWWP: a well-defined hydrophobic cavity, which selectively interacts with the H3K36me3 peptide and adjacent basic surface, which non-specifically binds DNA. LEDGF PWWP exhibits nanomolar binding affinity to purified native MNs, but displays markedly lower affinities for the isolated H3K36me3 peptide and DNA. Furthermore, we show that LEDGF PWWP preferentially and tightly binds to in vitro reconstituted MNs containing a tri-methyl-lysine analogue at position 36 of H3 and not to their unmodified counterparts. We conclude that cooperative binding of the hydrophobic cavity and basic surface to the cognate histone peptide and DNA wrapped in MNs is essential for high-affinity binding to chromatin.     

In Vitro DNA Tethering of HIV-1 Integrase by the Transcriptional Coactivator LEDGF/p75

Although LEDGF/p75 is believed to act as a cellular cofactor of lentiviral integration by tethering integrase (IN) to chromatin, there is no good in vitro model to analyze this functionality. We designed an AlphaScreen assay to study how LEDGF/p75 modulates the interaction of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 IN with DNA. IN bound with similar affinity to DNA mimicking the long terminal repeat or to random DNA. While LEDGF/p75 bound DNA strongly, a mutant of LEDGF/p75 with compromised nuclear localization signal (NLS)/AT hook interacted weakly, and the LEDGF/p75 PWWP domain did not interact, corroborating previous reports on the role of NLS and AT hooks in charge-dependent DNA binding. LEDGF/p75 stimulated IN binding to DNA 10-fold to 30-fold. Stimulation of IN-DNA binding required a direct interaction between IN and the C-terminus of LEDGF/p75. Addition of either the C-terminus of LEDGF/p75 (amino acids 325-530) or LEDGF/p75 mutated in the NLS/AT hooks interfered with IN binding to DNA. Our results are consistent with an in vitro model of LEDGF/p75-mediated tethering of IN to DNA. The inhibition of IN-DNA interaction by the LEDGF/p75 C-terminus may provide a novel strategy for the inhibition of HIV IN activity and may explain the potent inhibition of HIV replication observed after the overexpression of C-terminal fragments in cell culture.     

LEDGF/p75-Independent HIV-1 Replication Demonstrates a Role for HRP-2 and Remains Sensitive to Inhibition by LEDGINs

Lens epithelium–derived growth factor (LEDGF/p75) is a cellular cofactor of HIV-1 integrase (IN) that interacts with IN through its IN binding domain (IBD) and tethers the viral pre-integration complex to the host cell chromatin. Here we report the generation of a human somatic LEDGF/p75 knockout cell line that allows the study of spreading HIV-1 infection in the absence of LEDGF/p75. By homologous recombination the exons encoding the LEDGF/p75 IBD (exons 11 to 14) were knocked out. In the absence of LEDGF/p75 replication of laboratory HIV-1 strains was severely delayed while clinical HIV-1 isolates were replication-defective. The residual replication was predominantly mediated by the Hepatoma-derived growth factor related protein 2 (HRP-2), the only cellular protein besides LEDGF/p75 that contains an IBD. Importantly, the recently described IN-LEDGF/p75 inhibitors (LEDGINs) remained active even in the absence of LEDGF/p75 by blocking the interaction with the IBD of HRP-2. These results further support the potential of LEDGINs as allosteric integrase inhibitors.     

HRP2 determines the efficiency and specificity of HIV-1 integration in LEDGF/p75 knockout cells but does not contribute to the antiviral activity of a potent LEDGF/p75-binding site integrase inhibitor

The binding of integrase (IN) to lens epithelium-derived growth factor (LEDGF)/p75 in large part determines the efficiency and specificity of HIV-1 integration. However, a significant residual preference for integration into active genes persists in Psip1 (the gene that encodes for LEDGF/p75) knockout (KO) cells. One other cellular protein, HRP2, harbors both the PWWP and IN-binding domains that are important for LEDGF/p75 co-factor function. To assess the role of HRP2 in HIV-1 integration, cells generated from Hdgfrp2 (the gene that encodes for HRP2) and Psip1/Hdgfrp2 KO mice were infected alongside matched control cells. HRP2 depleted cells supported normal infection, while disruption of Hdgfrp2 in Psip1 KO cells yielded additional defects in the efficiency and specificity of integration. These deficits were largely restored by ectopic expression of either LEDGF/p75 or HRP2. The double-KO cells nevertheless supported residual integration into genes, indicating that IN and/or other host factors contribute to integration specificity in the absence of LEDGF/p75 and HRP2. Psip1 KO significantly increased the potency of an allosteric inhibitor that binds the LEDGF/p75 binding site on IN, a result that was not significantly altered by Hdgfrp2 disruption. These findings help to rule out the host factor-IN interactions as the primary antiviral targets of LEDGF/p75-binding site IN inhibitors.     

Identification of small peptides inhibiting the integrase‐LEDGF/p75 interaction through targeting the cellular co‐factor

The integration of the viral DNA into the host genome is one of the essential steps in the HIV replication cycle. This process is mediated by the viral enzyme integrase (IN) and lens epithelium‐derived growth factor (LEDGF/p75). LEDGF/p75 has been identified as a crucial cellular co‐factor of integration that acts by tethering IN to the cellular chromatin. Recently, circular peptides were identified that bind to the C‐terminal domain of IN and disrupt the interaction with LEDGF/p75. Starting from the circular peptides, we identified a short peptidic sequence able to inhibit the LEDGF/p75‐IN interaction at low μM concentration through its binding to the IN binding site of LEDGF/p75. This discovery can lead to the synthesis of peptidomimetics with high anti‐HIV activity targeting the cellular co‐factor LEDGF/p75 and not the viral protein IN. Copyright © 2013 European Peptide Society and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Cell surface heparan sulfates mediate internalization of the PWWP/HATH domain of HDGF via macropinocytosis to fine-tune cell signalling processes involved in fibroblast cell migration

HDGF (hepatoma-derived growth factor) stimulates cell proliferation by functioning on both sides of the plasma membrane as a ligand for membrane receptor binding to trigger cell signalling and as a stimulator for DNA synthesis in the nucleus. Although HDGF was initially identified as a secretory heparin-binding protein, the biological significance of its heparin-binding ability remains to be determined. In the present study we demonstrate that cells devoid of surface HS (heparan sulfate) were unable to internalize HDGF, HATH (N-terminal domain of HDGF consisting of amino acid residues 1-100, including the PWWP motif) and HATH(K96A) (single-site mutant form of HATH devoid of receptor binding activity), suggesting that the binding of HATH to surface HS is important for HDGF internalization. We further demonstrate that both HATH and HATH(K96A) could be internalized through macropinocytosis after binding to the cell surface HS. Interestingly, HS-mediated HATH(K96A) internalization is found to exhibit an inhibitory effect on cell migration and proliferation in contrast with that observed for HATH action on NIH 3T3 cells, suggesting that HDGF exploits the innate properties of both cell surface HS and membrane receptor via the HATH domain to affect related cell signalling processes. The present study indicates that MAPK (mitogen-activated protein kinase) signalling pathways could be affected by the HS-mediated HATH internalization to regulate cell migration in NIH 3T3 fibroblasts, as judged from the differential effect of HATH and HATH(K96A) treatment on the expression level of matrix metalloproteases.