Caffeine inhibits human immunodeficiency virus type 1 transduction of nondividing cells

J Virol. 2005 Feb;79(4):2058-65. doi: 10.1128/JVI.79.4.2058-2065.2005.

Abstract

Caffeine is an efficient inhibitor of DNA repair and DNA damage-activated checkpoints. We have shown recently that caffeine inhibits retroviral transduction of dividing cells, most likely by blocking postintegration repair. This effect may be mediated at least in part by a cellular target of caffeine, the ataxia telangiectasia-mutated and Rad3-related (ATR) kinase. In this study, we present evidence that caffeine also inhibits efficient transduction of nondividing cells. We observed reduced transduction in caffeine-treated growth-arrested cells as well as caffeine-treated terminally differentiated human neurons and macrophages. Furthermore, this deficiency was observed with a human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) vector lacking Vpr, indicating that the effect is independent of the presence of this viral protein in the infecting virion. Finally, we show that HIV-1 transduction of nocodazole-arrested cells is reduced in cells that express an ATR dominant-negative protein (kinase-dead ATR [ATRkd]) and that the residual transduction of ATRkd-expressing cells is relatively resistant to caffeine. Taken together, these data suggest that the effect(s) of caffeine on HIV-1 transduction is mediated at least partly by the inhibition of the ATR pathway but is not dependent on the caffeine-mediated inhibition of cell cycle checkpoints.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Caffeine / pharmacology*
  • Cell Cycle Proteins / metabolism
  • Cell Line
  • Genetic Vectors
  • HIV-1 / drug effects*
  • HIV-1 / genetics
  • HIV-1 / physiology
  • Humans
  • Transduction, Genetic*
  • Virus Integration / drug effects*

Substances

  • Cell Cycle Proteins
  • Caffeine