Abstract
We have investigated the effects of Nef on infectivity in the context of various viral envelope proteins. These experiments were performed with a minimal vector system where Nef is the only accessory protein present. Our results support the hypothesis that the route of entry influences the ability of Nef to enhance human immu-nodeficiency virus (HIV) infectivity. We show that HIV particles pseudotyped with Ebola virus glycoprotein or vesicular stomatitis virus glycoprotein (VSV-G), which fuse at low pH, do not require Nef for optimal infec-tivity. In contrast, Nef significantly enhances the infectivity of virus particles that contain envelope proteins that fuse at neutral pH (CCR5-dependent HIV Env, CXCR4-dependent HIV Env, or amphotropic murine leu-kemia virus Env). In addition, our results demonstrate that virus particles containing mixed CXCR4-dependent HIV and VSV-G envelope proteins show a conditional requirement for Nef for optimal infectivity, depending on which protein is allowed to facilitate entry.