Effects of cation substitutions on reverse transcriptase and on human immunodeficiency virus production

Reverse transcription is a key aspect of the retroviral life cycle. The enzyme reverse transcriptase requires divalent cations, manganese or magnesium, for function. In some cation-dependent systems substitution of a physiological metal by a nonphysiological metal has been shown to work. We investigated the effect of different cations on HIV reverse transcriptase activity. The studies established reaction conditions for assaying different cations. A variety of transition metals were used in in vitro assays with HIV recombinant RT homodimer and some were delivered to HIV-infected cells in vitro to study effects on virus production. Most metals substituted adequately for magnesium. However, palladium showed a marked nonreversible inhibition of RT activity in vitro that correlated with reduced HIV virus production in tissue culture. A more extensive range of transition metals and divalent cations was tested for their effects on detection of HIV RT from infected cell supernatants. In these complex phenotypes were seen. In some cases the RT activity appeared to be more easily detectable. This may relate to calcium-dependent nucleases in cell supernatants being inhibited, leading to an apparent enhancement of RT activity, or may be due to direct effects on RT processivity.