Mitotic deacetylase complex (MiDAC) recognizes the HIV-1 core promoter to control Tat-activated transcription and latency
Authors: Wilhelm Emmanuelle , Poirier Mikaël , Bédard Mikaël , McDonald Patrick P. , Lavigne Pierre , Hunter Christie L , Bell Brendan 
Published: November 2023

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) integrates into the host genome forming latent cellular reservoirs that are an obstacle for cure or remission strategies. Viral transcription is the first step in the control of latency and depends upon the hijacking of the host cell RNA polymerase II (Pol II) machinery by the 5’ HIV LTR. Consequently, “block and lock” or “shock and kill” strategies for an HIV cure depend upon a full understanding of HIV transcriptional control. The HIV trans-activating protein, Tat, controls HIV latency as part of a positive feed-forward loop that strongly activates HIV transcription. The recognition of theTATA box andadjacentsequences ofHIVessential forTattrans-activation (TASHET) of the core promoter by host cellpre-initiationcomplexes ofHIV (PICH) has been shown to be necessary for Tattrans-activation, yet the protein composition of PICH has remained obscure. Here DNA-affinity chromatography was employed to identify the mitotic deacetylase complex (MiDAC) as selectively recognizing TASHET. Using biophysical techniques, we show that the MiDAC subunit DNTTIP1 binds directly to TASHET, in part via its CTGC DNA motifs. Using co-immunoprecipitation assays, we show that DNTTIP1 interacts with MiDAC subunits MIDEAS and HDAC1/2. The Tat-interacting protein, NAT10, is also present in HIV-bound MiDAC. Gene silencing revealed a functional role for DNTTIP1, MIDEAS, and NAT10 in HIV expressionin cellulo. Furthermore, point mutations in TASHET that prevent DNTTIP1 binding block the reactivation of HIV by latency reversing agents (LRA) that act via the P-TEFb/7SK axis in a model of latency. Our data reveal a key role for MiDAC subunits DNTTIP1, MIDEAS, as well as NAT10, in Tat-activated HIV transcription and latency. DNTTIP1, MIDEAS and NAT10 emerge as cell cycle-regulated host cell transcription factors that can control HIV latency, and as new drug targets for HIV cure strategies.

Author summary

Latent HIV integrated within the host cell genome poses a major problem for viral eradication. The reactivation of latent HIV depends on host cell transcription factors that are hijacked by the 5’ long terminal repeat (LTR) region of the HIV genome to produce viral RNA. At the heart of the LTR of HIV lies a particularly crucial DNA region named the core promoter that is specifically required for the reactivation of HIV by a viral protein named Tat. A significant body of work over more than 30 years has established the specific requirement for the HIV core promoter in Tat’s control of HIV latency, but the underlying molecular mechanisms have remained elusive. Here, we identify host cell transcription factors that bind selectively to the HIV core promoter to control HIV gene expression. Our data reveal three human proteins that act in a complex to reactivate latent HIV, including one that directly recognizes the HIV core promoter, one that regulates chromatin, and a third that binds to the HIV Tat protein. Our data fill a significant and long-standing gap in the understanding of latency and identify new potential drug targets for HIV cure strategies.