Human interferon-induced transmembrane (IFITM) proteins inhibit the fusion of a broad spectrum of enveloped viruses, both when expressed in target cells and when present in infected cells. Upon expression in infected cells, IFITMs incorporate into progeny virions and reduce their infectivity by a poorly understood mechanism. Since only a few envelope glycoproteins (Envs) are present on HIV-1 particles, and Env clustering has been proposed to be essential for optimal infectivity, we asked if IFITM protein incorporation modulates HIV-1 Env clustering. The incorporation of two members of the IFITM family, IFITM1 and IFITM3, into HIV-1 pseudoviruses correlated with a marked reduction of infectivity. Super-resolution imaging of Env distribution on single HIV-1 pseudoviruses did not reveal significant effects of IFITMs on Env clustering. However, IFITM3 reduced the Env processing and incorporation into virions relative to the control and IFITM1-containing viruses. These results show that, in addition to interfering with the Env function, IFITM3 restricts HIV-1 Env cleavage and incorporation into virions. The lack of notable effect of IFITMs on Env clustering supports alternative restriction mechanisms, such as modification of the properties of the viral membrane.
Keywords: HIV-1 Env; IFITM; dSTORM; envelope glycoprotein clustering.