The B30.2(SPRY) Domain of the Retroviral Restriction Factor TRIM5α Exhibits Lineage-Specific Length and Sequence Variation in Primates

Abstract

Tripartite motif (TRIM) proteins are composed of RING, B-box 2, and coiled coil domains. Some TRIM proteins, such as TRIM5α, also possess a carboxy-terminal B30.2(SPRY) domain and localize to cytoplasmic bodies. TRIM5α has recently been shown to mediate innate intracellular resistance to retroviruses, an activity dependent on the integrity of the B30.2 domain, in particular primate species. An examination of the sequences of several TRIM proteins related to TRIM5 revealed the existence of four variable regions (v1, v2, v3, and v4) in the B30.2 domain. Species-specific variation in TRIM5α was analyzed by amplifying, cloning, and sequencing nonhuman primate TRIM5 orthologs. Lineage-specific expansion and sequential duplication occurred in the TRIM5α B30.2 v1 region in Old World primates and in v3 in New World monkeys. We observed substitution patterns indicative of selection bordering these particular B30.2 domain variable elements. These results suggest that occasional, complex changes were incorporated into the TRIM5α B30.2 domain at discrete time points during the evolution of primates. Some of these time points correspond to periods during which primates were exposed to retroviral infections, based on the appearance of particular endogenous retroviruses in primate genomes. The results are consistent with a role for TRIM5α in innate immunity against retroviruses.