A Genome-Wide Screen for Machinery Involved in Downregulation of MHC Class I by HIV-1 Nef

The HIV-1-encoded protein, Nef, plays a key role in the development of AIDS. One of Nef’s functions is to keep MHC class I off the surface of infected cells, a process that requires the host proteins clathrin and AP-1. To identify other proteins involved in this pathway, we carried out a genome-wide siRNA library screen on HeLa cells co-expressing HLA-A2 and an inducible form of Nef. Out of 21,121 siRNA pools, 100 were selected for further analysis, based on their ability to either inhibit or enhance downregulation of MHC-I by Nef. When cells were treated with the same siRNA pools as those used in the screen, 79% produced a similar phenotype. However, when the cells were treated with different siRNA reagents targeting the same genes, only 16% produced a similar phenotype. This indicates that most of the hits found in the original screen are likely to have been off-target, an important concern that is often not taken into account in siRNA screening studies. Nevertheless, we identified novel host factors involved in Nef-induced downregulation of MHC-I, including four genes, MIIP, CAMSAP3, SLC6A3, and KCTD19, where multiple reagents produced a strong inhibitory effect on Nef activity. Other hits slightly below our very high stringency cutoff point may also deserve further study. Thus, our dataset is a valuable resource for scientists investigating the pathogenesis of HIV.