Genome-wide CRISPR knockout screen identifies ZNF304 as a silencer of HIV transcription that promotes viral latency.

ABSTRACT: Despite the widespread use of anti-retroviral therapy, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) still persists in an infected cell reservoir that harbors transcriptionally silent yet replication-competent proviruses. While significant progress has been made in understanding how the HIV reservoir is established, transcription repression mechanisms that are enforced on the integrated viral promoter have not been fully revealed. In this study, we performed a whole-genome CRISPR knockout screen in HIV infected T cells to identify host genes that potentially promote HIV latency. Of several top candidates, the KRAB-containing zinc finger protein, ZNF304, was identified as the top hit. ZNF304 silences HIV gene transcription through associating with TRIM28 and recruiting to the viral promoter heterochro

SUBMITTER: Krasnopolsky S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7529202 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature