Berglund J A, Charpentier B, Rosbash M
Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Department of Biology, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA 02254, USA.
Nucleic Acids Res. 1997 Mar 1;25(5):1042-9. doi: 10.1093/nar/25.5.1042.
The nucleocapsid protein (NC) of HIV-1 is a small zinc finger protein that contributes to multiple steps of the viral life cycle, including the proper encapsidation of HIV RNA. This is accomplished through an interaction between NC and a region at the 5'-end of the RNA, defined as the Psi element. However, the specificity of NC for Psi or for RNA in general is not well understood. To study this problem, we used SELEX to identify high affinity RNA ligands that bind to NC. A 'winner' molecule (SelPsi), as well as a subregion of Psi RNA, were further characterized to understand the interaction between NC and SelPsi and its relationship to the interaction between NC and Psi. The comparison makes predictions about the sequence and structure of a high affinity binding site within the HIV-1 Psi element.
HIV-1的核衣壳蛋白(NC)是一种小的锌指蛋白,它在病毒生命周期的多个步骤中发挥作用,包括HIV RNA的正确包装。这是通过NC与RNA 5'端的一个区域(定义为ψ元件)之间的相互作用来实现的。然而,NC对ψ或一般RNA的特异性尚未得到很好的理解。为了研究这个问题,我们使用SELEX来鉴定与NC结合的高亲和力RNA配体。进一步对一个“获胜”分子(SelPsi)以及ψRNA的一个子区域进行了表征,以了解NC与SelPsi之间的相互作用及其与NC和ψ之间相互作用的关系。该比较对HIV-1 ψ元件内高亲和力结合位点的序列和结构做出了预测。