Virology Commons^™

Characterizing The Role Of The Fact Complex In Hiv-1 Infection, Angelica Patricia Lopez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The lens epithelium-derived growth factor p75 (LEDGF/p75) is a chromatin-bound protein essential for efficient lentiviral integration. Knockdown of this protein severely affects HIV-1 integration levels and thus itâ??s replication. Genome-wide studies have located LEDGF/p75 inside actively transcribed genes where it mediates lentiviral integration. Although this is clearly established, the molecular mechanisms of LEDGF/p75 in HIV-1 infection remain in part elusive.

Using protein-protein interaction assays, we demonstrated that LEDGF/p75 complexes with a chromatin remodeling complex, Facilitates Chromatin Transcription (FACT), a heterodimer of the structure specific recognition protein 1 (SSRP1) and the human homolog of suppressor of Ty 16 (hSpt16). The FACT …