Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: EC:2.7.7.7 (DNA polymerase)
 17,007 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Reverse transcriptase (RT) was first discovered as an essential catalyst in the biological cycle of retroviruses. However, in the past years evidence has accumulated showing that RTs are involved in a surprisingly large number of RNA-mediated transpositional events that include both viral and nonviral genetic entities. Although it is probable that some RT-bearing genetic elements like the different types of AIDS viruses and the mammalian LINE family have arisen in recent geological times, the possibility that reverse transcription first took place in the early Archean is supported by (1) the hypothesis that RNA preceded DNA as cellular genetic material; (2) the existence of homologous regions of the subunit tau of the E. coli DNA polymerase III with the simian immunodeficiency virus RT, the hepatitis B virus RT, and the beta' subunit of the E. coli RNA polymerase (McHenry et al. 1988); (3) the presence of several conserved motifs, including a 14-amino-acid segment that consists of an Asp-Asp pair flanked by hydrophobic amino acids, which are found in all RTs and in most cellular and viral RNA polymerases. However, whether extant RTs descend from the primitive polymerase involved in the RNA-to-DNA transition remains unproven. Substrate specificity of the AMV and HIV-1 RTs can be modified in the presence of Mn2+, a cation which allows them to add ribonucleotides to an oligo (dG) primer in a template-dependent reaction. This change in specificity is comparable to that observed under similar conditions in other nucleic acid polymerases. This experimentally induced change in RT substrate specificity may explain previous observations on the misincorporation of ribonucleotides by the Maloney murine sarcoma virus RT in the minus and plus DNA of this retrovirus (Chen and Temin 1980). Our results also suggest that HIV-infected macrophages and T-cell cells may contain mixed polynucleotides containing both ribo- and deoxyribonucleotides. The evolutionary significance of these changes in substrate specificities of nucleic acid polymerases is also discussed.
 ...
PMID:On the early emergence of reverse transcription: theoretical basis and experimental evidence. 128 61

An aqueous extract of Phyllanthus niruri (Euphorbiaceae) inhibited human immunodeficiency virus type-1 reverse transcriptase (HIV-1-RT). The inhibitor against HIV-1-RT in this plant was purified by combination of three column chromatographies, Sephadex LH-20, cellulose, and reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. The inhibitor was then identified by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra as repandusinic acid A monosodium salt (RA) which was originally isolated from Mallotus repandus. The 50% inhibitory doses (ID50) of RA on HIV-1-RT and DNA polymerase alpha (from HeLa cells) were 0.05 microM and 0.6 microM, respectively, representing approximately a 10-fold more sensitivity of HIV-1-RT compared with DNA polymerase alpha. RA was shown to be a competitive inhibitor with respect to the template-primer while it was a noncompetitive inhibitor with respect to the substrate. RA as low as 10.1 microM inhibited HIV-1-induced cytopathogenicity in MT-4 cells. In addition, 4.5 microM of RA inhibited HIV-1-induced giant cell formation of SUP-T1 approximately 50%. RA (2.5 microM) inhibited up to 90% of HIV-1 specific p24 antigen production in a Clone H9 cell system.
AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses 1992 Nov
PMID:HIV-1 reverse transcriptase inhibitor from Phyllanthus niruri. 128 10

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV, a betaherpes virus) is the cause of serious disease in immunologically compromised individuals, including those with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. One of the compounds used in the chemotherapy of HCMV infections is the nucleoside analogue 9-(1,3-dihydroxy-2-propoxymethyl)-guanine (ganciclovir). The mechanism of action of this drug is dependent on the formation of the nucleoside triphosphate, which is a strong inhibitor of the viral DNA polymerase. Thymidine kinase, which is encoded by many of the herpesviruses, catalyses the initial phosphorylation of ganciclovir. But there is no evidence for the coding of this enzyme by HCMV, and DNA sequence analysis of the HCMV genome has shown that there is no open reading frame characteristic of a herpesvirus thymidine kinase. Here we present biochemical and immunological evidence that the HCMV UL97 open reading frame codes for a protein capable of phosphorylating ganciclovir. This protein seems to be responsible for the selectivity of ganciclovir and will be useful tool in the understanding and refinement of the antiviral activity of new selective anti-HCMV compounds.
 ...
PMID:Human cytomegalovirus UL97 open reading frame encodes a protein that phosphorylates the antiviral nucleoside analogue ganciclovir. 131 59

A 3.5 angstrom resolution electron density map of the HIV-1 reverse transcriptase heterodimer complexed with nevirapine, a drug with potential for treatment of AIDS, reveals an asymmetric dimer. The polymerase (pol) domain of the 66-kilodalton subunit has a large cleft analogous to that of the Klenow fragment of Escherichia coli DNA polymerase I. However, the 51-kilodalton subunit of identical sequence has no such cleft because the four subdomains of the pol domain occupy completely different relative positions. Two of the four pol subdomains appear to be structurally related to subdomains of the Klenow fragment, including one containing the catalytic site. The subdomain that appears likely to bind the template strand at the pol active site has a different structure in the two polymerases. Duplex A-form RNA-DNA hybrid can be model-built into the cleft that runs between the ribonuclease H and pol active sites. Nevirapine is almost completely buried in a pocket near but not overlapping with the pol active site. Residues whose mutation results in drug resistance have been approximately located.
 ...
PMID:Crystal structure at 3.5 A resolution of HIV-1 reverse transcriptase complexed with an inhibitor. 137 3

Herpes simplex virus (HSV) resistant to acyclovir can produce persistent mucocutaneous ulcerative disease in patients with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). The incidence of clinically significant acyclovir-resistant HSV disease has dramatically increased since the advent of the AIDS epidemic. The primary mechanism of acyclovir resistance is induction of viral mutants defective or deficient in thymidine kinase, the viral-encoded enzyme, which catalyzes the rate-limiting step in the triphosphorylation of acyclovir to its active form (acyclovir triphosphate). Foscarnet, a potent inhibitor of HSV DNA polymerase, does not require phosphorylation for its antiviral activity. This compound has been found to be effective in the treatment of acyclovir-resistant HSV infection by several investigators. A recently completed dose-comparative trial of foscarnet in AIDS patients with acyclovir-resistant HSV has confirmed the safety and efficacy of two doses of foscarnet (40 mg/kg every 8 or 12 hours) in the treatment of this disease, as well as providing preliminary evidence supporting the utility of foscarnet maintenance therapy in delaying recurrence of HSV lesions. Analysis of data from this trial has been complicated by the tremendous variability in lesion size at initiation of therapy, making any statistically valid comparison of treatment regimens almost impossible. A further trial in AIDS patients with acyclovir-resistant HSV infection has been designed to define better the role of foscarnet maintenance and, in light of evidence that a significant proportion of initial recurrences are due to acyclovir-sensitive HSV, to examine the potential utility of acyclovir maintenance following foscarnet induction therapy.
 ...
PMID:Foscarnet treatment of acyclovir-resistant herpes simplex virus infection in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome: preliminary results of a controlled, randomized, regimen-comparative trial. 153 Dec 85

The etiologic agent of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a retrovirus included in the subclass of lentiviruses in view of certain characteristics common to these viruses. Their similarity is mainly represented by the extreme slowness of disease manifestation and by the fact that HIV, like other lentiviruses, spreads within the organism in spite of an immune reaction. The mechanism of replication is not dissimilar to that of other retroviruses except for the expression of a particularly large number of regulating genes the most important of which are called tat, rev, and nef. Further genes with a probable regulating function are nef, vpr, and vpx. In the field of diagnostic virology, together with normal isolation tests, a technique that has become particularly important is PCR (polymerase chain reaction) which allows to obtain a relevant amount of specific viral DNA sequences by the use of a DNA polymerase and specific primers.
 ...
PMID:[Acquired immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1). Biological aspects and virological diagnosis]. 156 59

We have been studying the role of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) as a potential cofactor in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-related disease. The clinical relevance of HCMV is highlighted by the fact that it is a principal viral pathogen in patients with AIDS and is known to infect the same cells as HIV. In this study, we focused on the molecular interactions between HIV and HCMV in human fibroblasts and in the human glioblastoma/astrocytoma-derived cell line U373 MG, cells which can be productively infected by both viruses. Because these cells are CD4-, we used HIV pseudotyped with a murine amphotropic retrovirus as described previously (D. H. Spector, E. Wade, D. A. Wright, V. Koval, C. Clark, D. Jaquish, and S. A. Spector, J. Virol. 64:2298-2308, 1990). Initial studies showed that when cells were preinfected with HIV (Ampho-1B) for 5 days and then superinfected with HCMV, HIV antigen production dropped significantly in the coinfected cells but continued to rise in cells infected with HIV (Ampho-1B) alone. HCMV production, however, was unaffected by the presence of HIV. Further analysis showed that HIV steady-state RNA levels and gag and env protein production were also inhibited in the presence of HCMV. The transcriptional inhibition of HIV was particularly surprising in view of the previous results of several other laboratories as well as our own that HCMV infection stimulates HIV long terminal repeat-chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (LTR-CAT) expression in transient expression assays. To investigate this further, we transfected the HIV LTR-CAT construct into either uninfected cells or cells which had been preinfected with HIV. The cells were infected with HCMV 24 h posttransfection and assayed for CAT gene expression at 48 h after HCMV infection. Although there was some stimulation of the LTR-CAT in cells that were dually infected by HIV and HCMV, it was 16-fold less than that in the cells infected only with HCMV. This suggests that in the presence of the HIV infection, the stimulation of the HIV LTR-CAT gene by HCMV is significantly reduced. Experiments with UV-irradiated HCMV and the HCMV DNA polymerase inhibitor ganciclovir showed that HCMV transcription is necessary for the reduction in HIV production to occur; however, replication of the HCMV genome or any events which take place after DNA replication are not necessary. These results, coupled with the observation that inhibition is usually first seen between 8 and 24 h after HCMV infection, suggest that an HCMV early protein is involved in repression of HIV.
 ...
PMID:Human cytomegalovirus inhibits human immunodeficiency virus replication in cells productively infected by both viruses. 165 86

Concentration of monovalent and divalent cations, anionic detergent, reducing agent and nucleotides, as well as pH, temperature, and incubation time were optimized for high levels of HIV-1 endogenous reverse transcriptase activity. In addition, mellitin, a peptide substitute for anionic detergent, and oligo(dT)12-18 were found to stimulate nucleic acid synthesis. This HIV-1 endogenous reaction demonstrated RNA- and DNA-dependent DNA polymerase activities. Nucleic acid intermediates and final products included RNA:DNA hybrids as well as single- and double-stranded DNA. The complementary DNA products formed were representative of all regions of the HIV-1 genome.
AIDS 1990 Mar
PMID:Optimal conditions for synthesizing complementary DNA in the HIV-1 endogenous reverse transcriptase reaction. 169 15

Our recent efforts have been directed at the development of selective inhibitors of different classes of viruses, including adeno, pox, and herpesviruses [herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) and type 2 (HSV-2), varicella-zoster (VZV), cytomegalovirus (CMV), Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)], (+/-)RNA viruses (reo- and rotavirus), (-)RNA viruses (influenza, parainfluenza, measles, respiratory syncytial, vesicular stomatitis and rabies virus) and retroviruses [i.e. human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the causative agent of AIDS]. In this search, the following molecular targets were envisaged: for DNA viruses in general, the viral DNA polymerase; for herpes simplex virus and varicella-zoster virus, the viral DNA polymerase via a specific phosphorylation by the viral 2'-deoxythymidine (dThd) kinase; for (+/-)RNA and (-)RNA viruses, S-adenosylhomocysteine (SAH) hydrolase, a key enzyme in transmethylation reactions required for the maturation of viral mRNA; for retroviruses, reverse transcriptase as initiator of virus replication and/or cell transformation; and for several enveloped viruses (i.e. retro-, herpes- and rhabdoviruses), virus adsorption to the outer cell membrane. Several new compounds have been developed that appear to act at these targets: i.e. (E)-5-(2-bromovinyl)-2'-deoxyuridine [bromovinyldeoxyuridine (BVDU)] and derivatives thereof [i.e. carbocyclic BVDU (C-BVDU)] as well as derivatives of acyclovir (i.e. 8-substituted acyclovir derivatives) as inhibitors of herpesviruses; (S)-9-(3-hydroxy-2-phosphonylmethoxypropyl)adenine [(S)-HPMPA], 9-(2-phosphonylmethoxyethyl)adenine (PMEA) and other phosphonylmethoxyalkylpurines and -pyrimidines as inhibitors of DNA viruses and retroviruses; acyclic and carbocyclic analogues of adenosine [such as (S)-9-(2,3-dihydroxypropyl)adenine [S)-DHPA), carbocyclic 3-deazaadenosine (C-c3Ado), (RS)-3-adenin-9-yl-2-hydroxypropanoic acid (AHPA) alkyl esters, neplanocin A, 3-deazaneplanocin A and the 5'-nor derivatives of neplanocin A and 3-deazaneplanocin A] as inhibitors of (+/-)RNA and (-)RNA viruses; 2',3'-dideoxynucleoside analogues as inhibitors of retroviruses; and sulfated polysaccharides (i.e. heparin, dextran sulfate, pentosan polysulfate, mannan sulfate), sulfated polyvinylalcohol and co-polymers of sulfated polyvinylalcohol with acrylic acid as inhibitors of retro-, herpes- and rhabdoviruses.
 ...
PMID:Selective virus inhibitors. 169 49

Reverse transcriptase (RT) plays an essential role in the life cycle of the human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV). A better understanding of this enzyme, and its two catalytic functions, the DNA polymerase and the RNase H, could lead to the development of new drugs that would specifically block HIV replication. The available genetic, sequence, biochemical, and immunological data on the reverse transcriptase of HIV-1 constrain the possible structure of the DNA polymerase domain. The purpose of this review is to correlate the data and to discuss, in light of that data, a model for the structure of the polymerase domain. In this model, the polymerase domain is approximately 50 to 60 A in diameter with a 20 A opening to accommodate the nucleic acid duplex. The most evolutionarily conserved region of RT (amino acids 20-190 of HIV-1 RT) is proposed to form the inner surface of the 20 A opening to which the nucleic acid hemiduplex is bound.
AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses 1990 Sep
PMID:HIV-1 reverse transcriptase: structure predictions for the polymerase domain. 170 98


1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next >>