Biochemical properties of second site mutation of human immunodeficiency virus integrase

A highly conserved amino acid, glutamic acid (Glu), present at position 152 in the catalytic domain of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) integrase (IN) protein has been known to be critical for enzymatic function since substitution of Glu 152 with other residues results in a complete loss of enzymatic activities, In order to better understand the role of Glu 152 as a conserved residue in enzymatic action, intragenic second site mutations have been introduced around residue 152 of a mutant IN (E152A), and their biochemical properties were analyzed in terms of enzymatic activities, Disintegration activities were found to be significantly restored in several second site mutant INs, while integration activities were only recovered weakly. However, endonucleolytic activities were not discovered in all the mutant INs, These findings indicate that the second site mutations can partially restore the catalytic structure of the active site disturbed by the E152A mutation and lead to the regaining of integration and disintegration activities, In addition, it is also suggested that endonucleolytic activity requires a more accurate structure of the catalytic site than that for the integration and disintegration activities.