Major histocompatibility complex class I is down-regulated from the surface of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1-infected cells by Nef, a virally encoded protein that is thought to reroute MHC-I to the trans-Golgi network (TGN) in a phosphofurin acidic cluster sorting protein (PACS) 1, adaptor protein (AP)-1, and clathrin-dependent manner. More recently, an alternative model has been proposed, in which Nef uses AP-1 to direct MHC-I to endosomes and lysosomes. Here, we show that knocking down either AP-1 or clathrin with small interfering RNA inhibits the down-regulation of HLA-A2 (an MHC-I isotype) by Nef in HeLa cells. However, knocking down PACS-1 has no effect, not only on Nef-induced down-regulation of HLA-A2 but also on the localization of other proteins containing acidic cluster motifs. Surprisingly, knocking down AP-2 actually enhances Nef activity. Immuno-electron microscopy labeling of Nef-expressing cells indicates that HLA-A2 is rerouted not to the TGN, but to endosomes. In AP-2-depleted cells, more of the HLA-A2 localizes to the inner vesicles of multivesicular bodies. We propose that depleting AP-2 potentiates Nef activity by altering the membrane composition and dynamics of endosomes and causing increased delivery of HLA-A2 to a prelysosomal compartment.
INTRODUCTIONLike many viruses, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 has evolved strategies to avoid detection and destruction by the host. One such strategy is the down-regulation of major histocompatability complex (MHC) class I from the plasma membrane of HIV-1-infected cells, which prevents the cells from being attacked by cytotoxic T lymphocytes. MHC-I down-regulation has been shown to be a function of a virally encoded protein called Nef (Schwartz et al., 1996;Collins et al., 1998). Nef is one of the so-called "accessory proteins" of both human and simian immunodeficiency viruses: although not required for viral replication in vitro, Nef plays a key role in the development of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. Nef is a small protein, only ϳ200 amino acids, but it has been reported to interact with a large number of host cell proteins, including several proteins that are involved in membrane traffic. These interactions are thought to be responsible for the ability of Nef to modulate the surface expression of MHC-I and other molecules (for review, see Collins and Baltimore, 1999;Piguet et al., 1999;Doms and Trono, 2000;Roeth and Collins, 2006).Among the binding partners that have been identified for Nef are the adaptor protein (AP) complexes. There are four AP complexes in mammalian cells, two of which, AP-1 and AP-2, are highly enriched in clathrin-coated vesicles (CCVs). AP-1 facilitates clathrin-mediated trafficking between the trans-Golgi network (TGN) and endosomes (although there is still some question about directionality), and AP-2 facilitates clathrin-mediated endocytosis (Robinson, 2004). AP-3, which seems to be able to act both in a clathrin-dependent and in a clathrin-independent manner (Dell'Angelica et al., 1998;Peden et al., 2...