Expression of HIV-1 nef in yeast causes membrane perturbation and release of the myristylated Nef protein.

The human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) Nef protein is essential for AIDS pathogenesis, but its function remains highly controversial. During stresses such as growth in the presence of copper or at elevated temperature, myristylated Nef is released from yeast cells and, after extended culture in stationary phase, it accumulates in the supernatant as a dense membranous material that can be centrifuged into a discrete layer above the cell pellet. This material is unique to Nef-producing cells and represents a convenient source of Nef that may have application in further biological studies.

Stress- and sequence-dependent release into the culture medium of HIV-1 Nef produced in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

We have produced human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) Nef (a myristylated 206-amino-acid protein) in Saccharomyces cerevisaie and shown that, while Nef is normally found as a predominantly intracellular protein, amounts up to 40 micrograms/ml of Nef are also released into the extracellular medium during stress. By electrophoretic (SDS-PAGE) analysis the extracellular Nef is indistinguishable from intracellular Nef. Conditions of stress that lead to the release of Nef include elevated levels of copper or magnesium ions or growth at elevated temperatures.

Expression and analysis of the NS2 protein of influenza A virus.

Influenza NS2 protein was expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae using a copper-inducible promoter. The protein produced had a molecular weight of 13 kDa, was reactive with anti-NS2 antiserum and was localised to the yeast cell nucleus. Two-hybrid analysis identified a direct protein-protein interaction between NS2 and the M2 protein of the virus, involving the C-terminal 163 residues of M1.

Large-scale production and characterization of recombinant human immunodeficiency virus type 1 Nef.

Sequences encoding the 27K and 25K nef gene products (Nef 27 and Nef 25) were amplified by PCR from a human immunodeficiency virus type 1 infectious clone and subcloned directly into Escherichia coli, yeast and baculovirus expression vectors. The yeast- and baculovirus-derived Nef had native N termini but the expression levels were low. The expression levels of the E.

Nef 27, but not the Nef 25 isoform of human immunodeficiency virus-type 1 pNL4.3 down-regulates surface CD4 and IL-2R expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells and transformed T cells.

Continuing controversy surrounds the cellular effects of the Nef protein of HIV-1, a nonstructural protein expressed by most isolates. Highly purified protein isoforms of MW 27 kDa (Nef 27) and 25 kDa (Nef 25), produced in Escherichia coli by translation from the first and second start codons of HIV-1 nef clone pNL4.3, respectively, were introduced into cells by a sophisticated electroporation technique which uses electric field rather than electric charge to transfer macromolecules across cell membranes.