Evidence that HIV-1 restriction factor SAMHD1 facilitates differentiation of myeloid THP-1 cells

Background SAMHD1 counteracts HIV-1 or HIV-2/SIVsmm that lacks Vpx by depleting the intracellular pool of nucleotides in myeloid cells and CD4+ quiescent T cells, thereby inhibiting the synthesis of retroviral DNA by reverse transcriptase. Depletion of nucleotides has been shown to underline the establishment of quiescence in certain cellular systems. These observations led us to investigate whether SAMHD1 could control the transition between proliferation and quiescence using the THP-1 cell model.