Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: EC:2.7.7.49 (reverse transcriptase)
31,746 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

We have used site-directed mutagenesis of cloned Moloney murine leukemia virus (MuLV) DNA to define a function encoded in the 3' region of the viral pol gene and required for efficient integration of viral DNA. One mutant, MuLV-SF1, contained a single base substitution (C to T at base 4950) that resulted in an arginine to cysteine change in a region highly conserved among retroviruses. Mutant DNA, introduced into rat cells by cotransfection with a herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase gene (HSV tk), directed production of virus particles with reverse transcriptase activity. Infection of cells with these particles led to synthesis of full-length linear and circular forms of unintegrated viral DNA; however, integrated viral DNA was decreased at least by a factor of 10 when examined by DNA hybridization, and the mutant particles were less efficient then wild-type virus at establishing an infection by a factor of at least 300. Pseudotypes formed with the proteins of MuLV-SF1 and the genome of a replication defective marker MuLV, carrying the HSV tk gene, were less effective by at least a factor of 100 in producing tk+ colonies than pseudotypes formed with proteins encoded by wild-type virus. When the MuLV-SF1 pseudotypes did produce tk+ cells, most of the proviruses were integrated aberrantly. We conclude that the MuLV-SF1 pol gene is defective for a function that is required for normal integrative recombination and dissociable from DNA synthesis.
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PMID:A mutant murine leukemia virus with a single missense codon in pol is defective in a function affecting integration. 620 50

During the past two decades, the essentiality of zinc for man has been established. Deficiency of zinc in man due to nutritional factors and several diseased states has been recognized. High phytate content of cereal proteins decreases availability of zinc; thus the prevalence of zinc deficiency is likely to be high in a population subsisting mainly on cereal proteins. Alcoholism is known to cause hyperzincuria and thus may play a role in producing zinc deficiency in man. Malabsorption, cirrhosis of the liver, chronic renal disease and other chronically debilitating diseases may similarly induce zinc deficiency in human subjects. A severe deficiency of zinc has recently been recognized to occur in patients with sickle cell anemia and a beneficial effect of zinc therapy in such patients has been reported. Growth retardation, male hypogonadism, skin changes, poor appetite, mental lethargy and delayed wound healing are some of the manifestations of chronically zinc-deficient human subjects. Taste abnormalities, correctable with zinc supplementation, have been observed in uremic subjects. Recently, abnormal dark adaptation related to zinc deficiency in patients with cirrhosis of the liver and sickle cell disease has been reported. In severely zinc-deficient patients, dermatological manifestations, diarrhea, alopecia, mental disturbances and intercurrent infections predominate and if untreated the condition becomes fatal. Zinc deficiency is known to affect testicular functions adversely in man and animals. This effect of zinc is at the end organ level and it appears that zinc is essential for spermatogenesis and testosterone steroidogenesis. Zinc is involved in many biochemical functions. Several zinc metalloenzymes have been recognized in the past decade. Zinc is required for each step of cell cycle in microorganisms and is essential for DNA synthesis. Thymidine kinase, RNA polymerase, DNA-polymerase from various sources and RNA-dependent DNA polymerase from viruses have been shown to be zinc-dependent enzymes. Zinc also regulates the activity of RNase; thus the catabolism of RNA appears to be zinc-dependent. The effect of zinc on protein synthesis may be attributable to its vital role in nucleic acid metabolism. The activities of many zinc-dependent enzymes have been shown to be affected adversely in zinc-deficient tissues. Three enzymes, alkaline phosphatase, carboxypeptidase and thymidine kinase, appear to be most sensitive to zinc restriction in that their activities are affected adversely within three to six days of institution of a zinc-deficient diet to experimental animals.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
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PMID:Zinc deficiency in human subjects. 636 78

We describe a human (h) PRL-producing cell line, SKUT-1B-20, which we isolated as a subclone of a uterine sarcoma cell line. Although this cell line is of uterine origin, it does not use the decidual-specific upstream promoter of the hPRL gene, but transcribes the hPRL gene from the downstream pituitary-type transcription start site, as determined by Northern blot, reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction and primer extension analyses. This is particularly intriguing because SKUT-1B-20 cells lack the transcription factor Pit-1. No Pit-1 messenger RNA was detectable by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction, and endogenous Pit-1 target genes (GH, PRL, and Pit-1) were refractory to transfected Pit-1 expression vector, whereas in cotransfection experiments, Pit-1 efficiently activated reporter gene fusion constructs carrying 5'-flanking sequences of the human and rat PRL or the mouse Pit-1 genes. By transfecting reporter genes containing 8.7 kilobases of DNA flanking the hPRL pituitary-specific start site (hPRL-8700/Luc) and deletions thereof, we located a Pit-1-independent cis-active region more than 7 kilobases upstream of the start site. The most distal 1650 or 880 base pairs of the hPRL genomic fragment (which extends to -8784 base pairs), when placed directly upstream of the homologous hPRL or the heterologous thymidine kinase promoters, conferred transcriptional activation to those promoters. SKUT-1B-20 cell-specific activation of hPRL-8700/Luc could not be suppressed by the introduction of an inhibitor of protein kinase A (PKA), PKI. This is the first demonstration of pituitary-type PRL gene transcription independent of Pit-1 and activation of the PKA pathway. The SKUT-1B-20 cell line was then used in reconstitution experiments to delineate the role of Pit-1 in modulating the transcriptional effects of phorbol ester, PKA, and estrogen receptor (ER) on the hPRL gene. The low response of hPRL/luciferase fusion genes to phorbol ester was greatly enhanced by cotransfected Pit-1 and was mediated by the proximal region between -250 and -38. The catalytic subunit of PKA, C beta, was able to elicit a moderate induction of hPRL-8700/Luc even in the absence of Pit-1. A potential estrogen response element has been located in the hPRL gene sequence at a position similar to that of the estrogen response element of the rat PRL gene immediately adjacent to the distal enhancer.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
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PMID:Pituitary-type transcription of the human prolactin gene in the absence of Pit-1. 747 71

The calbindin D9k (CaBP9k) gene is under strict estrogen control in the rat uterus. This tissue contains two CaBP9k messenger RNA (mRNA) species. We have used primer extension analysis, reverse transcriptase associated with polymerase chain reaction, and RNase H digestion to show that these two mRNA species have the same structural features, including 5'- and 3'-ends, and poly(A) tail length. Our results suggest that the difference in electrophoretic mobilities of the two mRNA species might be due to interaction with another factor. We also analyzed the imperfect estrogen-responsive element (ERE) present on the first 5'-splice site of the rat CaBP9k gene. The oligonucleotide corresponding to the CaBP9k ERE was cloned in the plasmid pBLCAT2 (where the thymidine kinase promoter governs the expression of the chloramphenicol acetyl transferase gene) and transfected into MCF7 cells. This CaBP9k ERE was found to be a hormone-inducible enhancer that worked in an orientation-independent manner on a heterologous promoter and was functional at physiological hormone concentrations. One CaBP9k ERE conferred only weak (about 2-fold) estrogen induction, but two EREs cloned in tandem were strongly synergistic (14- to 16-fold). The CaBP9k ERE also bound to the partially purified estrogen receptor (ER) and to ER expressed in COS cells by gel shift assay. Methylation interference showed that all the guanine residues in both half-sites of the CaBP9k ERE were protected by ER binding. Thus, ER binds to the CaBP9k ERE in a way similar to other EREs. The gel shift assay results indicate that the strong synergistic effect of two EREs cloned in tandem is not due to cooperative binding between the two elements. As the CaBP9k gene is under strong estrogenic control in the uterus in vivo, the imperfect CaBP9k ERE may cooperate with another trans-acting factor to become fully efficient.
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PMID:Calbindin-D9k gene expression in the uterus: study of the two messenger ribonucleic acid species and analysis of an imperfect estrogen-responsive element. 750 2

L-beta-Deoxythymidine (L-dT), the optical enantiomer of D-beta-deoxythymidine (D-dT), and L-enantiomers of nucleoside analogs, such as 5-iodo-2'-deoxy-L-uridine (L-IdU) and E-5-(2-bromovinyl)-2'-deoxy-L-uridine (L-BVdU), are not recognized in vitro by human cytosolic thymidine kinase (TK), but are phosphorylated by herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) TK and inhibit HSV-1 proliferation in infected cells. Here we report that: (i) L-dT is selectively phosphorylated in vivo to L-dTMP by HSV-1 TK and L-dTMP is further phosphorylated to the di- and triphosphate forms by non-stereospecific cellular kinases; (ii) L-dTTP not only inhibits HSV-1 DNA polymerase in vitro, but also human DNA polymerase alpha, gamma, delta and epsilon, human immunodeficiency virus reverse transcriptase (HIV-1 RT), Escherichia coli DNA polymerase 1 and calf thymus terminal transferase, although DNA polymerase beta was resistant; (iii) whereas DNA polymerase beta, gamma, delta and epsilon are unable to utilize L-dTTP as a substrate, the other DNA polymerases clearly incorporate at least one L-dTMP residue, with DNA polymerase alpha and HIV-1 RT able to further elongate the DNA chain by catalyzing the formation of the phosphodiester bond between the incorporated L-dTMP and an incoming L-dTTP; (iv) incorporated L-nucleotides at the 3'-OH terminus make DNA more resistant to 3'-->5' exonucleases. In conclusion, our results suggest a possible mechanism for the inhibition of viral proliferation by L-nucleosides.
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PMID:Stereospecificity of human DNA polymerases alpha, beta, gamma, delta and epsilon, HIV-reverse transcriptase, HSV-1 DNA polymerase, calf thymus terminal transferase and Escherichia coli DNA polymerase I in recognizing D- and L-thymidine 5'-triphosphate as substrate. 754 86

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) reverse transcriptase substitutes for temperature-sensitive DNA polymerase I (Pol Its) in Escherichia coli, providing a screen for anti-HIV reverse transcriptase nucleoside analogs in bacteria. Since phosphorylation of nucleosides in E. coli is limited to thymidine and its derivatives, we coexpressed herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase, an enzyme that phosphorylates a wide variety of nucleoside analogs, together with HIV reverse transcriptase. Coexpression of herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase and HIV reverse transcriptase rendered Pol Its cells sensitive to dideoxycytidine. Studies with different nucleoside analogs indicate that this bacterial screening system is able to select and identify nucleoside analogs that specifically target HIV reverse transcriptase.
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PMID:A screen in Escherichia coli for nucleoside analogs that target human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) reverse transcriptase: coexpression of HIV reverse transcriptase and herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase. 754 49

Azidothymidine (zidovudine, AZT) used for treatment of HIV infection blocks the viral reverse transcriptase after phosphorylation by cellular enzymes. The first step in this reaction is the formation of AZT monophosphate, primarily catalyzed by host cytoplasmatic thymidine kinase (TK1). The activity of TK1 was determined in extracts of PHA-stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from 20 healthy volunteers and 49 HIV-infected patients at different stages of disease. In both groups we found a large intra- and interindividual variation of TK activity. Because TK1 expression is cell cycle regulated the proportion of stimulated cells was determined in the samples and the median thymidine kinase activity calculated. It was 3.0 pmol/mg/min x % S phase in the HIV-seronegative group and 1.1 pmol/mg/min x % S phase in HIV-infected individuals. The difference in thymidine kinase activity is statistically significant (p = 0.0001). The concentration of TK1 protein in the same extracts was also determined by immunoblotting. A positive correlation (r = 0.74) was observed between TK activity and amount of TK1 protein. The reason for this downregulation of TK is still unknown but may be related to the anergy observed in lymphocytes from HIV-infected persons. The reduced capacity for intracellular phosphorylation of AZT in HIV-infected individuals may be an important factor in the emergence of clinical AZT resistance and should also be accounted for in testing AZT resistance in vitro with PBMCs from healthy blood donors.
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PMID:Decreased thymidine kinase levels in peripheral blood cells from HIV-seropositive individuals: implications for zidovudine metabolism. 754 7

3'-Azido-2',3'-dideoxy-5-iodouridine (AzIdUrd) and 3'-azido-2',3'-dideoxy-5-bromouridine (AzBdUrd), previously shown to be potent and selective inhibitors of human immunodeficiency virus replication in vitro were minimally toxic to the uninfected human lymphoid cell line H9 (IC50 = 197 and 590 microM, respectively). Both compounds strongly inhibited the incorporation of [3H]thymidine but not [3H]deoxyadenosine into DNA, and we observed no significant inhibition of [3H]uridine incorporation into RNA or [3H]amino acid incorporation into protein. Exposure of H9 cells to AzIdUrd or AzBdUrd (100 microM, 24 hr) and pulse-labeling with [3H]thymidine resulted in approximately 80% reduction in levels of tritiated dTMP, dTDP, and dTTP relative to control. [125I]AzIdUrd was phosphorylated rapidly in H9 cells with the monophosphate accounting for over 90% of total soluble radioactivity. A relatively low but stable level of AzIdUTP was maintained over a 12-hr period. [125I]AzIdUrd was phosphorylated by a cell free extract of H9 cells at a rate approximately three times that of thymidine and its phosphorylation was inhibited by excess thymidine. AzIdUrd was found to be a competitive inhibitor of cytosolic thymidine kinase with a Ki of 2.63 microM and AzIdUMP a weak competitive inhibitor of thymidylate kinase with a Ki of 55.3 microM. Both AzIdUTP and AzBdUTP were potent competitive inhibitors of HIV-1 reverse transcriptase (Ki = 0.028 and 0.043 microM, respectively) and relatively poor inhibitors of H9 cell DNA polymerase alpha (Ki = 42.0 and 42.7 microM, respectively). Thus, the high therapeutic index of these compounds is due to the sensitivity of the viral reverse transcriptase, coupled with the relative insensitivity of the host cell DNA polymerase alpha.
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PMID:Metabolism and mode of selective inhibition of human immunodeficiency virus replication by 3'-azido-2',3'-dideoxy-5-iodouridine and 3'-azido-2',3'-dideoxy-5-bromouridine. 767 40

Activation of the anti-human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) compound 3'-azido-3'-deoxythymidine (AZT) is dependent on its 5'-phosphorylation by cellular nucleoside and nucleotide kinases. Azidothymidine 5'-triphosphate (AZTTP) is considered to be the metabolite responsible for both the anti-HIV effect of AZT, via inhibition of reverse transcriptase, and cytoxicity by interference with cellular DNA polymerases. During the characterization of AZT metabolism in cultured human T-lymphoblastoid CEM cells, a spontaneously occurring variant cell line, CEM/Ag-1, was found that showed approximately 10-fold resistance to AZT growth inhibition as compared to wild type (wt) cells (EC50 = 2 mM as compared to 350 microM for wt cells). CEM/Ag-1 cells had a 3-fold reduced capacity to accumulate azidothymidine monophosphate (AZTMP) compared to wt cells whereas similar levels of AZTTP were found in both cell lines. The intracellular half-life of AZTMP was approximately 70 min in both wt and CEM/Ag-1 cells. A 3-fold lower specific activity of cytoplasmic thymidine kinase was observed in CEM/Ag-1 extracts as compared to wt. The reduced thymidine kinase activity was not correlated to a decreased level of thymidine kinase mRNA. Syncytium formation of CEM/Ag-1 cells infected with HIV-2 as well as HIV-1 antigen production was inhibited at the same concentrations of AZT (approx. 0.01 microM) as were HIV-1 and HIV-2 infected wt cells. Thus, minor decreases in cellular thymidine kinase levels may markedly affect the cytoxicity of AZT but have no major effect on the antiviral activity of AZT. Our results strongly suggest that AZTMP is responsible for a major part of the growth inhibitor effects, while AZTTP mainly mediates the antiviral activity of AZT.
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PMID:Cytotoxicity of 3'-azido-3'-deoxythymidine correlates with 3'-azidothymidine-5'-monophosphate (AZTMP) levels, whereas anti-human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) activity correlates with 3'-azidothymidine-5'-triphosphate (AZTTP) levels in cultured CEM T-lymphoblastoid cells. 770 41

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) resistance to the nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors emerges very rapidly under selection in culture and in patients. In contrast, zidovudine (3'-azido-3'-deoxythymidine [AZT])-resistant HIV generally emerges in patients only after more-prolonged therapy. Although HIV can be cultured from many patients shortly after the initiation of AZT treatment, characterization of the virus that is cultured generally indicates that it is sensitive to AZT. To initiate an evaluation of the mechanisms contributing to early HIV breakthrough in the presence of AZT and other nucleoside analogs, we have utilized replication-defective HIV encoding reporter genes. These recombinant HIV allow a quantitative analysis of a single cycle of infection. Results with these defective HIV indicate that early infection in the presence of AZT often results from the infection of a cell which is refractory to the antiretroviral effects of AZT. Characterization of a cell line derived from one such cell has demonstrated decreased accumulation of AZT triphosphate, increased phosphorylation of thymidine to thymidine triphosphate, and increased levels of thymidine kinase activity. In addition, AZT inhibition of replication-competent HIV infection is also significantly impaired in this cell line. Attempts to detect and characterize the mechanisms responsible for early viral infection after initiation of AZT therapy may result in the development of new strategies for prolonged suppression of viral infection prior to the emergence of drug-resistant virus.
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PMID:Sanctuary growth of human immunodeficiency virus in the presence of 3'-azido-3'-deoxythymidine. 785 95


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