Key result
Prototype foamy virus protein Bet inhibits APOBEC3C antiviral activity by forming a complex that abolishes APOBEC3C dimerization without inducing its degradation.
The Prototype foamy virus protein Bet inhibits the antiviral activity of APOBEC3C by forming a complex that prevents its dimerization and incorporation into retroviral particles.
Offers mechanistic insight into retroviral evasion; leaves open therapeutic targeting in human infections.
The APOBEC3 cytidine deaminases are part of the intrinsic defense of cells against retroviruses. Lentiviruses and spumaviruses have evolved essential accessory proteins, Vif and Bet, respectively, which counteract the APOBEC3 proteins. We show here that Bet of the Prototype foamy virus inhibits the antiviral APOBEC3C activity by a mechanism distinct to Vif: Bet forms a complex with APOBEC3C without inducing its degradation. Bet abolished APOBEC3C dimerization as shown by coimmunoprecipitation and cross-linking experiments. These findings implicate a physical interaction between Bet and the APOBEC3C. Subsequently, we identified the Bet interaction domain in human APOBEC3C in the predicted APOBEC3C dimerization site. Taken together, these data support the hypothesis that Bet inhibits incorporation of APOBEC3Cs into retroviral particles. Bet likely achieves this by trapping APOBEC3C protein in complexes rendering them unavailable for newly generated viruses due to direct immobilization.
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Perković et al. (2008) studied Retroviral infection (in vitro). Prototype foamy virus protein Bet was evaluated on APOBEC3C dimerization and antiviral activity. Prototype foamy virus protein Bet inhibits APOBEC3C antiviral activity by forming a complex that abolishes APOBEC3C dimerization without inducing its degradation.
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