BASIC SCIENCE

Cell Research, 15(11-12):923-934, Nov-Dec 2005

Roles of HIV-1 auxiliary proteins in viral pathogenesis and host-pathogen interactions

Lin LI^1,5, Hai Shan LI^3,6, C. David PAUZA^1-3, Michael BUKRINSKY⁴, Richard Y ZHAO^1-3,*

¹Department of Pathology,
²Department of Microbiology-Immunology,
³Institute of Human Virology,University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA
⁴Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Tropic Medicine, George Washington University, Washington, DC 20037, USA
⁵AIDS Research Department, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Bejing 100071, China
⁶National Center for AIDS, China Centers for Disease Control, Beijing 100050, China

Correspondence: Richard Y ZHAO 410-706-6301 (phone) 410-706-6302 (fax) E-mail:rzhao@som.umaryland.edu

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Abstract

Active host-pathogen interactions take place during infection of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1). Outcomes of these interactions determine the efficiency of viral infection and subsequent disease progression. HIV-infected cells respond to viral invasion with various defensive strategies such as innate, cellular and humoral immune antiviral mechanisms. On the other hand, the virus has also developed various offensive tactics to suppress these host cellular responses. Among many of the viral offensive strategies, HIV-1 viral auxiliary proteins (Tat, Rev, Nef, Vif, Vpr and Vpu) play important roles in the host-pathogen interaction and thus have significant impacts on the outcome of HIV infection. One of the best examples is the interaction of Vif with a host cytidine deaminase APOBEC3G. Although specific roles of other auxiliary proteins are not as well described as Vif-APOBEC3G interaction, it is the goal of this brief review to summarize some of the preliminary findings with the hope to stimulate further discussion and investigation in this exhilarating area of research.

Keywords: HIV-1, auxiliary proteins, viral pathogenesis, host-pathogen interactions.