Unveiling Fv1's Potential: Insights into its Interaction with the HIV-1 Capsid

Virus susceptibility factor 1 (Fv1) serves as the prototype restriction factor guarding against infection by murine leukemia virus (MLV). Analysis of the Fv1 sequences revealed several residues in the C-terminal region that had undergone positive selection during evolution and might have played a role in various retroviral infections. For the first time, various bioinformatic tools have been applied to reveal specific residues involved in the interaction between Fv1 and the HIV-1 capsid as the target. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulation analysis of the Fv1-capsid complex confirmed the stability of the protein-protein complex. Docking and molecular dynamic simulation analyses demonstrated the potential of Fv1 to inhibit HIV-1 infection and supported the possibility that the HIV-1 capsid could be a target for novel anti-HIV medications. Furthermore, we revealed conserved regions, postmodification sites, and secondary and tertiary structures, which provided valuable data about the nature of the FV1 protein.