Retroviral integration is catalyzed by a tetramer of integrase (IN) assembled on viral DNA ends in a stable complex, known as the intasome1,2. How the intasome interfaces with chromosomal DNA, which exists in the form of nucleosomal arrays, is currently unknown. Here we show that the prototype foamy virus (PFV) intasome is proficient at stable capture of nucleosomes as targets for integration. Single-particle cryo-electron microscopy (EM) reveals a multivalent intasome-nucleosome interface involving both gyres of nucleosomal DNA and one H2A-H2B heterodimer. While the histone octamer remains intact, the DNA is lifted from the surface of the H2A-H2B heterodimer to allow integration at strongly preferred superhelix location (SHL) ±3.5 positions. Amino acid substitutions disrupting these contacts impinge on the ability of the intasome to engage nucleosomes in vitro and redistribute viral integration sites on the genomic scale. Our findings elucidate the molecular basis for nucleosome capture by the viral DNA recombination machinery and the underlying nucleosome plasticity that allows integration.

Retroviral integrase (IN) functions within the intasome nucleoprotein complex to catalyze insertion of viral DNA into cellular chromatin. Using cryo-electron microscopy, we now visualize the functional maedi-visna lentivirus intasome at 4.9 Å resolution. The intasome comprises a homo-hexadecamer of IN with a tetramer-of-tetramers architecture featuring eight structurally distinct types of IN protomers supporting two catalytically competent subunits. The conserved intasomal core, previously observed in simpler retroviral systems, is formed between two IN tetramers, with a pair of C-terminal domains from flanking tetramers completing the synaptic interface. Our results explain how HIV-1 IN, which self-associates into higher order multimers, can form a functional intasome, reconcile the bulk of early HIV-1 IN biochemical and structural data, and provide a lentiviral platform for design of HIV-1 IN inhibitors.

Formation of the Hepatitis B (HBV) nucleocapsid (NC) is an essential step in the viral lifecycle but its assembly is not fully understood. We report the discovery of sequence-specific interactions between the viral pre-genome and HBV core protein (Cp) that play roles in defining the NC assembly pathway. Using RNA SELEX and bioinformatics we identified multiple regions in the pre-genomic RNA with high-affinity for Cp dimers. These RNAs form stem-loops with a conserved loop motif that trigger sequence-specific assembly of virus-like particles (VLPs) at much higher fidelity and yield than in the absence of RNA. The RNA oligos do not interact with preformed RNA-free VLPs, so their effects must occur during particle assembly. Asymmetric cryo-EM reconstruction of the T=4 VLPs assembled in the presence of one of the RNAs reveals a unique internal feature connected to the main Cp shell via lobes of density. Biophysical assays suggest that this is a complex involving several RNA oligos interacting with the C-terminal arginine-rich domains of Cp. These Cp-RNA contacts may play a role(s) in regulating the organization of the pre-genome during nucleocapsid assembly, facilitating subsequent reverse transcription and acting as a nucleation complex for NC assembly.

HIV integrase (IN) strand transfer inhibitors (INSTIs) are among the newest anti-AIDS drugs; however, mutant forms of IN can confer resistance. We developed noncytotoxic naphthyridine-containing INSTIs that retain low nanomolar IC50 values against HIV-1 variants harboring all of the major INSTI-resistant mutations. We found by analyzing crystal structures of inhibitors bound to the IN from the prototype foamy virus (PFV) that the most successful inhibitors show striking mimicry of the bound viral DNA prior to 3′-processing and the bound host DNA prior to strand transfer. Using this concept of “bi-substrate mimicry,” we developed a new broadly effective inhibitor that not only mimics aspects of both the bound target and viral DNA but also more completely fills the space they would normally occupy. Maximizing shape complementarity and recapitulating structural components encompassing both of the IN DNA substrates could serve as a guiding principle for the development of new INSTIs.