Non-canonical interactions in a kissing loop complex: the dimerization initiation site of HIV-1 genomic RNA

Retroviruses encapsidate two molecules of genomic RNA that are noncovalently linked close to their 5' ends in a region called the dimer linkage structure (DLS). The dimerization initiation site (DIS) of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) constitutes the essential part of the DLS in vitro and is crucial for efficient HIV-1 replication in cell culture. We previously identified the DIS as a hairpin structure, located upstream of the major splice donor site, that contains in the loop a six-nucleotide self-complementary sequence preceded and followed by two and one purines, respectively. Two RNA monomers form a kissing loop complex via intermolecular interactions of the six nucleotide self-complementary sequence. Here, we introduced compensatory mutations in the self-complementary sequence and/or a mutation in the flanking purines. We determined the kinetics of dimerization, the thermal stabilities and the apparent equilibrium dissociation constants of wild-type and mutant dimers and used chemical probing to obtain structural information. Our results demonstrate the importance of the 5'-flanking purine and of the two central bases of the self-complementary sequence in the dimerization process. The experimental data are rationalized by triple interactions between these residues in the deep groove of the kissing helix and are incorporated into a three-dimensional model of the kissing loop dimer. In addition, chemical probing and molecular modeling favor the existence of a non-canonical interaction between the conserved adenine residues at the first and last positions in the DIS loop. Furthermore, we show that destabilization of the kissing loop complex at the DIS can be compensated by interactions involving sequences located downstream of the splice donor site of the HIV-1 genomic RNA.