Host restriction of immune escape HIV-1 mutants

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases awarded Meharry Medical College $1,226,522 on May 7, 2026, under the Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research program (CFDA 93.855) to investigate the molecular mechanisms governing HIV-1 immune escape mutations and host cell restriction factors.

The funded research examines how HIV-1 elite controllers with human leukocyte antigen B27 maintain durable antiretroviral therapy-free viral control through potent CD8+ cytotoxic T-lymphocyte responses targeting HIV-1 capsid protein epitopes. The project determines the mechanistic basis by which the R264K capsid mutation impairs viral DNA integration through cyclophilin A- or cleavage and polyadenylation specificity factor subunit 6-dependent pathways, and how the compensatory S173A mutation restores viral replication by altering capsid conformation to evade the human restriction protein TRIM5α. Understanding these virus-host cell dynamics may inform functional cure strategies for HIV/AIDS.

Meharry Medical College, a historically Black academic health sciences center in Nashville, Tennessee, serves as the prime recipient. Performance occurs in Nashville, TN 37208. The award period runs through April 30, 2027. The Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research program supports biomedical research and research training in infectious diseases at public and private nonprofit institutions and individuals.

Abstract

Neither a vaccine nor a scalable cure is available to end the HIV/aids pandemic. A feasible "functional cure" approach entails durable antiretroviral therapy-free control of HIV, a characteristic exhibited by HIV elite controllers (ECS). In certain ECS carrying human leukocyte antigen B27, potent CD8+ cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) response targeting the HIV-1 capsid protein (CA) epitope KK-10 establishes a functional cure-like status. The selection of CTL escape CA mutation R264K significantly diminishes virus replication, which intriguingly is contingent on two critical CA-binding host dependency factors-cyclophilin a (CYPA) and cleavage and polyadenylation specificity factor subunit 6 (CPSF6). Eventually, selection of compensatory CA mutation S173A restores R264K-harboring virus replication to WT levels in these ECS. The underlying virus- host cell dynamics remains largely undetermined. Our long-term goal is to understand the molecular mechanisms that impose immune control of HIV-1 and that enable HIV-1'S counter response and immune escape. Our previous work demonstrated that R264K-linked infectivity defect results from CYPA-dependent impairment of viral DNA integration but is restored by the presence of CA mutation S173A or the absence of CYPA. The objective of this proposal is to determine the mechanistic basis of the novel host dependency factor-dictated R264K-imposed virus integration block and the S173A-associated restoration of viral integration. Our central hypothesis is that the R264K-harboring virus integration impairment is imposed by the human anti-HIV restriction protein TRIM5ΑHU in a CYPA- or CPSF6-dependent manner and that the compensatory CA mutation S173A restores viral integration by altering R264K capsid conformation that renders IT inaccessible to TRIM5ΑHU restriction. The rationale is based on our published data demonstrating direct functional role for CA, CYPA, and CPSF6 in HIV-1 integration as well as published findings by other research groups. Our work is innovative as IT probes a host dependency factor-guided HIV restriction by nuclear-localized TRIM5ΑHU. In the proposed project, we will study the effect of HIV-1 nuclear PIC-associated CYPA or CPSF6 on R264K-imposed impairment of viral integration (aim 1), the proposed role of nuclear TRIM5ΑHU in R264K- imposed virus integration block (aim 2), and the predicted consequence of S173A-associated capsid core conformational changes on TRIM5ΑHU restriction and the restoration of R264K-harboring virus integration (aim 3). The proposed research is significant because of its potential to yield fundamental insights into novel mechanisms of virus/host cell dynamics governing the replication outcomes of clinically significant immune escape HIV-1 mutants and will broadly impact the field by supporting the development of innovative cure and treatment strategies for controlling the HIV/aids pandemic. 1