Anti-APOBEC3G

This gene is a member of the cytidine deaminase gene family. It is one of seven related genes or pseudogenes found in a cluster, thought to result from gene duplication, on chromosome 22. Members of the cluster encode proteins that are structurally and functionally related to the C to U RNA-editing cytidine deaminase APOBEC1. The protein encoded by this gene catalyzes site-specific deamination of both RNA and single-stranded DNA. The encoded protein has been found to be a specific inhibitor of human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) infectivity. Protein function: DNA deaminase (cytidine deaminase) which acts as an inhibitor of retrovirus replication and retrotransposon mobility via deaminase-dependent and -independent mechanisms. Exhibits potent antiviral activity against vif-deficient HIV-1. After the penetration of retroviral nucleocapsids into target cells of infection and the initiation of reverse transcription, it can induce the conversion of cytosine to uracil in the minus-sense single-strand viral DNA, leading to G-to-A hypermutations in the subsequent plus-strand viral DNA. The resultant detrimental levels of mutations in the proviral genome, along with a deamination- independent mechanism that works prior to the proviral integration, together exert efficient antiretroviral effects in infected target cells. Selectively targets single-stranded DNA and does not deaminate double-stranded DNA or single-or double- stranded RNA. Exhibits antiviral activity also against simian immunodeficiency viruses (SIVs), hepatitis B virus (HBV), equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV), xenotropic MuLV-related virus (XMRV) and simian foamy virus (SFV). May inhibit the mobility of LTR and non-LTR retrotransposons. [The UniProt Consortium]