Selection of intracellular single-domain antibodies targeting the HIV-1 Vpr protein by cytoplasmic yeast two-hybrid system

PLoS One. 2014 Dec 1;9(12):e113729. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0113729. eCollection 2014.

Abstract

The targeting of HIV-1 using antibodies is of high interest as molecular tools to better understand the biology of the virus or as a first step toward the design of new inhibitors targeting critical viral intracellular proteins. Small and highly stable llama-derived single-domain antibodies can often be functionally expressed as intracellular antibodies in the cytoplasm of eukaryotic cells. Using a selection method based on the Sos Recruitment System, a cytoplasmic yeast two-hybrid approach, we have isolated single-domain antibodies able to bind HIV-1 Vpr and Capside proteins in the yeast cytoplasm. One anti-Vpr single domain antibody was able to bind the HIV-1 regulatory Vpr protein in the cytoplasm of eukaryotic cells, leading to its delocalization from the nucleus to the cytoplasm. To our knowledge, this is the first description of a functional single-domain intrabody targeting HIV-1 Vpr, isolated using an in vivo cytoplasmic selection method that alleviates some limitations of the conventional yeast two-hybrid system.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Cell Nucleus / metabolism
  • Cytoplasm / metabolism*
  • HIV-1 / metabolism
  • HeLa Cells
  • Humans
  • Protein Binding
  • Saccharomyces cerevisiae / metabolism
  • Single-Domain Antibodies / metabolism*
  • Transfection
  • Two-Hybrid System Techniques*
  • vpr Gene Products, Human Immunodeficiency Virus / immunology*

Substances

  • Single-Domain Antibodies
  • vpr Gene Products, Human Immunodeficiency Virus
  • vpr protein, Human immunodeficiency virus 1

Grants and funding

This work was supported by Inserm, CNRS, Université Paris-Descartes, and grants from the “Agence Nationale de Recherche sur le SIDA (ANRS)” (SB, DB). JM was supported by a fellowship from ANRS. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.