Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: EC:2.7.7.48 (transcriptase)
 9,479 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Human T cell leukemia/lymphotropic virus (HTLV) is a complex 9 kb human retrovirus with at least eight alternatively spliced mRNAs expressed from the 3' or pX region of the genome. These mRNAs allow for the expression of novel proteins from the previously recognized pX open reading frames I and II in addition to Tax, Rex and p21rex encoded from orf III and IV. These alternatively spliced messages have been detected using reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT/PCR) amplification in HTLV-I-transformed T cell lines as well as in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from infected patients with and without disease. To gain insight into the role of these alternatively spliced mRNAs in pathogenesis, we developed a semi-quantitative non-PCR-based RNase protection assay to detect and quantitate their presence in HTLV-I-infected cells. Analysis of RNA from HTLV-I-infected cells established from patients with adult T cell leukemia (ATL) as well as tropical spastic paraparesis/HTLV-I-associated myelopathy (TSP/HAM) and both IL-2-dependent and IL-2-independent HTLV-I-infected cell lines by RNase protection has confirmed the existence of all of the alternatively spliced messages in each cell line analyzed. However, the relative quantity of each message was significantly different among these lines suggesting that splice site utilization is an important viral regulatory pathway.
 ...
PMID:Differential expression of alternatively spliced pX mRNAs in HTLV-I-infected cell lines. 917 42

The possible involvement of the human T lymphotropic viruses type I and II (HTLV-I and -II) in lymphoproliferative disorders of mature T cells other than adult T cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATLL) has been controversial. Most studies have focused primarily on the cutaneous T cell lymphomas. However, skin involvement is a frequent feature of T prolymphocytic leukemia (T-PLL) and antibodies against HTLV-I and -II have been reported in individuals with large granular lymphocytic (LGL) leukemia. We examined 36 patients with T-PLL and 28 with LGL leukemia for evidence of HTLV-I and -II. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed on DNA from fresh peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and PBMCs after short-term culture (STC) using primers against all parts of the HTLV-I genome (LTR, gag, env, pol, tax/rex) and against HTLV-II pol and gag. Reverse transcriptase (RT) activity was measured on supernatants from STCs using a sensitive PCR-based technique. No HTLV-I or -II sequences were found by PCR nor RT activity detected in the 64 cases. Our findings do not provide evidence of HTLV-I or -II infection in T-PLL and LGL leukemia patients from an HTLV-I nonendemic area. Previous positive reports on these disorders may represent technical artefacts, detection of endogenous HTLV-like sequences or reflect patients from endemic areas and a variable etiology of T cell diseases.
 ...
PMID:The human T-cell lymphotropic viruses types I/II are not involved in T prolymphocytic leukemia and large granular lymphocytic leukemia. 926 85

Adult T-cell leukemia (ATL) is characterized by infiltration of various tissues by circulating ATL cells, a finding often associated with a poor prognosis. Leukocyte migration from the circulation into tissues depends on integrin-mediated adhesion to the endothelium, and integrins are tightly regulated by several factors, such as chemokines. In this study, we focused on the interaction between chemokines and chemokine receptors on ATL cells to understand factors involved in ATL cell infiltration of lymphoid organs. We compared freshly isolated ATL cells from patients with and without lymphoid organ involvement for the expression of the chemokine receptor CCR7/EBI1, the functional receptor for secondary lymphoid-tissue chemokine (SLC), which is expressed at high levels by high endothelial venules of lymph nodes and Peyer's patches. Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction and flow cytometric analysis, using anti-CCR7 monoclonal antibody (CCR7.6B3), revealed that ATL cells from patients with lymphoid organ involvement expressed significantly more CCR7/EBI1 than control CD4(+)CD45RO(+) T cells and ATL cells from patients without lymphoid organ involvement. Consequently, significantly more ATL cells from patients with lymphoid organ involvement than control CD4(+)CD45RO(+) T cells and ATL cells from patients without lymphoid organ involvement adhered to surfaces coated with ICAM-1 and SLC or EBI1-ligand chemokine (ELC), another ligand for CCR7/EBI1, under static and flow conditions and migrated toward SLC or ELC at a low concentration (30 ng/ml). These findings suggest that increased CCR7/EBI1 expression plays a role in lymphoid organ infiltration of ATL cells. (Blood. 2000; 30-38)
 ...
PMID:Increased chemokine receptor CCR7/EBI1 expression enhances the infiltration of lymphoid organs by adult T-cell leukemia cells. 1060 81

The double-stranded RNA (dsRNA)-activated protein kinase PKR (protein kinase dsRNA-dependent) plays an important role in the regulation of protein synthesis by phosphorylating the alpha-subunit of eukaryotic initiation factor 2. Through this activity, PKR is thought to mediate the antiviral and antiproliferative actions of interferon. Here, we show that the human T cell leukemia Jurkat cells express an alternatively spliced form of PKR with a deletion of exon 7 (PKRDeltaE7), resulting in a truncated protein that retains the two dsRNA-binding motifs. PKRDeltaE7 exhibits a dominant negative function by inhibiting both PKR autophosphorylation and eukaryotic initiation factor 2 alpha-subunit phosphorylation in vitro and in vivo. Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction assays showed that PKRDeltaE7 is expressed in a broad range of human tissues at variable levels. Interestingly, expression of PKRDeltaE7 is higher in Jurkat cells than in normal peripheral blood mononuclear cells, raising the possibility of a role in cell proliferation and/or transformation. Thus, expression of alternatively spliced forms of PKR may represent a novel mechanism of PKR autoregulation with important implications in the control of cell proliferation.
 ...
PMID:Dominant negative function by an alternatively spliced form of the interferon-inducible protein kinase PKR. 1127 90

A single-cycle infection assay with recombinant viral vectors was developed to study human T cell leukemia virus type I (HTLV-I) replication and its inhibition by antiviral agents. The susceptibility of HTLV-I to 6 nucleoside reverse-transcriptase inhibitors was examined. HTLV-I replication was inhibited by tenofovir, abacavir, lamivudine, zalcitabine, stavudine, and zidovudine.
 ...
PMID:Susceptibility of human T cell leukemia virus type I to nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors. 1287 Jan 24