Nef (protein)

Negative factor, (F-Protein) or Nef
NMR structure of the NEF protein based on the PDB: 2NEF​ coordinates.
Identifiers
Symbol	F-protein
Pfam	PF00469
InterPro	IPR001558
SCOP2	1avv / SCOPe / SUPFAM
OPM superfamily	269
OPM protein	2nef
Available protein structures: Pfam   structures / ECOD   PDB RCSB PDB; PDBe; PDBj PDBsum structure summary

Nef (Negative Regulatory Factor) is a small 27-35 kDa myristoylated protein encoded by primate lentiviruses. These include Human Immunodeficiency Viruses (HIV-1 and HIV-2) and Simian Immunodeficiency Virus (SIV). Nef localizes primarily to the cytoplasm but also partially to the Plasma membrane (PM) and is one of many pathogen-expressed proteins, known as virulence factors, which function to manipulate the host's cellular machinery and thus allow infection, survival or replication of the pathogen.^[1] Nef stands for "Negative Factor" and although it is often considered indispensable for HIV-1 replication, in infected hosts the viral protein markedly elevates viral titers.^[2]