Grant: Operating Grant

The Human Immunodeficiency Virus-1 (HIV-1) causes the disease of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS). There are currently estimated to be 35 million people world-wide living with HIV/AIDS. When HIV-1 infects a person there are many barriers that that virus must overcome to establish a long term infection that results in AIDS. However, HIV-1 can overcome these barriers in most people because it produces many different proteins that specifically inhibit the function of proteins in the human immune system. We study a specific interaction between the HIV-1 protein called Vif and the APOBEC3 family of human immune system proteins. The HIV-1 Vif protein causes APOBEC3 proteins to become unstable in cells so that they cannot do their job. In the absence of Vif the APOBEC3 proteins are able to restrict the replication of HIV-1 by mutating its genetic information so that the virus can no longer produce the proteins that it needs to function. If we understand how Vif interacts with APOBEC3 proteins we can identify new avenues of blocking the virus and releasing the natural anti-HIV activity of our immune system. This research proposes experiments to help us better understand the relationship of Vif and APOBEC3 proteins with an ultimate goal of uncovering new strategies for HIV-1 therapies.