YAP Inhibits HIV-1 transcription and promotes HIV-1 latency by regulating E3 ubiquitin ligase UHRF1 mediated tat degradation

The latency of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) is a major barrier to achieving an HIV-1 cure, as antiretroviral therapy does not target the latent virus. Virus-host interactions play an essential role in various stages of the HIV-1 lifecycle. Exploring the interaction between host factors and HIV-1 infection is critical for developing new HIV-1 treatment strategies. Yes-associated protein (YAP) is a key co-transcription factor in the Hippo signaling pathway, which regulates the occurrence and development of various diseases, including cellular metabolism, cancer, immunity, and viral infection. In this study, we first confirmed that YAP gene expression in patients with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) was significantly lower than that in the healthy control group, as determined using the GEO2R online tool. Furthermore, YAP was identified as a negative regulator of HIV-1 transcription by mediating K33- and K48-linked ubiquitination and proteasomal degradation of Tat. Here, we further confirmed that the YAP TAD domain recruited ubiquitin-like with PHD and RING finger domain 1 (UHRF1) to mediate Tat's ubiquitination and degradation by the screening of the BioGRID database combined with IP-MS analysis. The conserved lysine residues K28, K29, and K41 on Tat were critical acceptor sites for ubiquitination and proteasomal degradation. Our findings revealed that YAP promotes the suppression of HIV-1 transcription and the maintenance of HIV-1 latency, providing novel insights into virus-host interactions for regulating HIV-1 latency.