Research Summaries

Xinhong Dong
Assistant Professor

The HIV-1 Gag protein directs the highly orchestrated process of particle assembly and budding. During assembly, the uncleaved Gag polyprotein interacts with the viral RNA and the envelope glycoprotein complex (Env) to coordinate the production of infectious virions. The cellular trafficking machinery is recruited by HIV-1 Gag and participates in essential steps of particle assembly and budding. We identified a novel interaction between Gag and the adaptor protein complex AP-3. This interaction directs Gag trafficking to multivesicular bodies (MVB). Disruption of Gag-AP-3 interaction prevents Gag from reaching to MVBs and inhibits particle formation.

We have identified several Gag-binding proteins by screening the human cDNA library. We are investigating their roles in HIV assembly using a variety of approaches including lentiviral mediated gene transfer, RNAi-mediated gene knockdown and site-directed mutagenesis. These studies not only have broader biological implications in understanding the association between cellular factors and viral proteins during HIV assembly, but will also provide us new information to design drugs to combat the virus.