The human APOBEC3 cytidine deaminases are potent inhibitors of diverse retroviruses, including human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1). HIV-1 Vif forms an E3 ubiquitin ligase complex with cullin 5 (CUL5), elongin B and elongin C , which promotes the polyubiquitination and degradation of APOBEC3 substrates. Here we demonstrate in human T cells that core binding factor β (CBF-β) is a key regulator of the evasion of HIV-1 from the host defence mediated by APOBEC3. CBF-β, the non-DNA-binding subunit of a heterodimeric transcription factor, regulates the folding and DNA-binding activity of partner RUNX family proteins, which have important roles in the development and differentiation of diverse cell ty... More
The human APOBEC3 cytidine deaminases are potent inhibitors of diverse retroviruses, including human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1). HIV-1 Vif forms an E3 ubiquitin ligase complex with cullin 5 (CUL5), elongin B and elongin C , which promotes the polyubiquitination and degradation of APOBEC3 substrates. Here we demonstrate in human T cells that core binding factor β (CBF-β) is a key regulator of the evasion of HIV-1 from the host defence mediated by APOBEC3. CBF-β, the non-DNA-binding subunit of a heterodimeric transcription factor, regulates the folding and DNA-binding activity of partner RUNX family proteins, which have important roles in the development and differentiation of diverse cell types, including T lymphocytes. In our study, knockdown of endogenous CBF-β blocked Vif-induced APOBEC3G polyubiquitination and degradation. CBF-β was not required for the interaction between Vif and APOBEC3G, yet was essential for the assembly of the Vif-CUL5 E3-ubiquitin-ligase complex. CBF-β proved to be a unique regulator of primate lentiviral Vif and not a general component of the CUL5 E3 ubiquitin ligase. We show that Vif and CBF-β physically interact, and that the amino-terminal region of Vif is required for this interaction. Furthermore, interactions with Vif required regions in CBF-β that are not involved in RUNX protein binding. Considering the importance of the interaction between Vif and CBF-β, disrupting this interaction represents an attractive pharmacological intervention against HIV-1.
