Vpr

Vpr is a HIV gene.[1][2]

It stands for "Viral Protein R". Vpr, a 96 amino acid 14-kDa protein, plays an important role in regulating nuclear import of the HIV-1 pre-integration complex, and is required for virus replication in non-dividing cells such as macrophages. Vpr also induces G2 cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in proliferating cells, which can result in immune dysfunction.[3][4]

Vpr is also immunosuppressive due to its ability to sequester a proinflammatory transcriptional activator in the cytoplasm. HIV-2 contains both a Vpr protein and a related (by sequence homology) Vpx protein (Viral Protein X). Two functions of Vpr in HIV-1 are split between Vpr and Vpx in HIV-2, with the HIV-2 Vpr protein inducing cell cycle arrest and the Vpx protein required for nuclear import.

References

  1. ^ MeSH Vpr+Gene+Products,+Human+Immunodeficiency+Virus
  2. ^ MeSH Genes,+Vpr
  3. ^ Bukrinsky M, Adzhubei A (1999). "Viral protein R of HIV-1". Rev. Med. Virol. 9 (1): 39–49. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1099-1654(199901/03)9:1<39::AID-RMV235>3.0.CO;2-3. PMID 10371671. 
  4. ^ Muthumani K, Choo AY, Zong WX, et al. (February 2006). "The HIV-1 Vpr and glucocorticoid receptor complex is a gain-of-function interaction that prevents the nuclear localization of PARP-1". Nat. Cell Biol. 8 (2): 170–9. doi:10.1038/ncb1352. PMID 16429131.