Kinetic variations between reverse transcriptases of viral protein X coding and noncoding lentiviruses

Background Host SAM domain and HD domain-containing protein 1 (SAMHD1) suppresses reverse transcription kinetics of HIV-1 in nondividing cells such as macrophages by hydrolyzing and nearly depleting cellular dNTPs, which are the substrates of viral reverse transcriptase (RT). However, unlike HIV-1, HIV-2 and SIVsm encode viral protein X (Vpx), which counteracts the dNTPase activity of SAMHD1 and elevates dNTP concentration, allowing the viruses to replicate under abundant dNTP conditions even in nondividing cells. Findings Here we tested whether RTs of these Vpx coding and noncoding lentiviruses display different enzyme kinetic profiles in response to dNTP concentrations. For this test, we characterized an extensive collection of RTs from 7 HIV-1 strains, 4 HIV-2 strains and 7 SIV strains, and determined their steady-state kinetic parameters. The K m values of all HIV-1 RTs were consistently low and close to the low dNTP concentrations found in macrophages. However, the K m values of SIV and HIV-2 RTs were not only higher than those of HIV-1 RTs but also varied significantly, indicating that HIV-2/SIV RTs require higher dNTP concentrations for efficient DNA synthesis, compared to HIV-1 RT. However, the k cat values of all eighteen lentiviral RTs were very similar. Conclusions Our biochemical analysis supports the hypothesis that the enzymological properties, particularly, K m values, of lentivirus RTs, are mechanistically tied with the cellular dNTP availability in nondividing target cells, which is controlled by SAMHD1 and Vpx.