A putative G protein-coupled receptor, RDC1, is a novel coreceptor for human and simian immunodeficiency viruses.

More than 10 G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) have been shown to act as coreceptors for infection of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1), HIV-2, and simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV). We have isolated HIV-1 variants infectious to primary brain-derived CD4-positive cells (BT-3 and BT-20/N) and U87/CD4 glioma cells that are resistant to T-cell line-tropic (T-tropic), macrophage-tropic (M-tropic), and T- and M-tropic (dualtropic) (X4, R5, and R5X4) HIV-1 strains. These primary brain-derived cells were also highly susceptible to HIV-2(ROD), HIV-2(SBL6669), and SIV(mndGB-1). A factor or coreceptor that determines the susceptibility of these brain-derived cells to these HIV and SIV strains has not been fully identified. To identify this coreceptor, we examined amino acid sequences of all known HIV and SIV coreceptors and noticed that tyrosine residues are well conserved in their extracellular amino-terminal domains. By this criterion, we selected 18 GPCRs as candidates of coreceptors for HIV and SIV strains infectious to these brain-derived cells. mRNA expression of an orphan GPCR, RDC1, was detected in the brain-derived cells, the C8166 T-cell line, and peripheral blood lymphocytes, all of which are susceptible to HIV-1 variants, but not in macrophages, which are resistant to them. When a CD4-expressing cell line, NP-2/CD4, which shows strict resistance to infection not only with HIV-1 but also with HIV-2 or SIV, was transduced with the RDC1 gene, the cells became highly susceptible to HIV-2 and SIV(mnd) strains but to neither M- nor T-tropic HIV-1 strains. The cells also acquired a low susceptibility to the HIV-1 variants. These findings indicate that RDC1 is a novel coreceptor for several HIV-1, HIV-2, and SIV strains which infect brain-derived cells.