HIV-1 Vpr Functions in Primary CD4+ T Cells

HIV-1 encodes four accesory proteins in addition to its structural and regulatory genes. Uniquely amongst them, Vpr is abundantly present within virions, meaning it is poised to exert various biological effects on the host cell upon delivery. In this way, Vpr contributes towards the establishment of a successful infection, as evidenced by the extent to which HIV-1 depends on this factor to achieve full pathogenicity in vivo. Although HIV infects various cell types in the host organism, CD4(+) T cells are preferentially targeted since they are highly permissive towards productive infection, concomitantly bringing about the hallmark immune dysfunction that accompanies HIV-1 spread. The last several decades have seen unprecedented progress in unraveling the activities Vpr possesses in the host cell at the molecular scale, increasingly underscoring the importance of this viral component. Nevertheless, it remains controversial whether some of these advances bear in vivo relevance, since commonly employed cellular models significantly differ from primary T lymphocytes. One prominent example is the "established" ability of Vpr to induce G2 cell cycle arrest, with enigmatic physiological relevance in infected primary T lymphocytes. The objective of this review is to present these discoveries in their biological context to illustrate the mechanisms whereby Vpr supports HIV-1 infection in CD4(+) T cells, whilst identifying findings that require validation in physiologically relevant models.