Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts: Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound   Target Concepts: Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound

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Query: EC:3.2.1.23 (beta-galactosidase)
14,648 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

We used a quantitative bioassay (the beta-gal assay) to visualize and quantify syncytium induction by fresh HIV isolates. This bioassay is based on the transactivation by tat of a chimeric gene comprising an HIV-1 long terminal repeat (LTR) fused to a modified lacZ gene of Escherichia coli. The chimeric gene encodes a beta-galactosidase which is translocated to the nucleus. It allows the enzymatic staining of all nuclei from HIV-induced syncytia. Using this unequivocal assay (the beta-gal assay), we could assess the syncytium-inducing properties of fresh HIV isolates after only 4 days of coculture of patient lymphocytes with activated normal lymphocytes. Syncytium-inducing HIV isolates were detected in 11 out of 40 seropositive patients studied. They were isolated mainly from AIDS patients: eight out of 17 grade IV (according to Centers for Disease Control criteria) patients were infected with syncytium-inducing strains. However, of 23 grade II and III patients tested, syncytium-inducing HIV strains were isolated from three cases. These three patients displayed no detectable p24 antigenaemia and had a CD4+ cell count of greater than 300 cells/microliter. The in vitro replication rate of HIV grown from 36 patient blood samples was then examined by sequential p24 antigen measurements in coculture supernatants. The 10 samples leading to syncytium formation also exhibited the highest replication rate. The possibility of unequivocally detecting syncytium-inducing strains after only a few days of coculture will make this detection routine and rapid. In addition, the limited period of amplification required is a significant advantage as it minimizes the emergence of HIV variants selected during long-term in vitro cultures.
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PMID:Syncytium induction by fresh HIV isolates: quantitative analysis using a transactivation beta-gal assay. 197 46

A quantitative bioassay for human immunodeficiency viruses has been developed on the basis of the ability of the tat gene to transactivate the expression of an integrated beta-galactosidase gene in a HeLa-CD4+ cell line. Infection by a single virion of HIV-1 or HIV-2 corresponds to a unique blue syncytium or a cell cluster detected after fixation and addition of 5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl-beta-D-galactopyranoside (a beta-galactosidase substrate). The number of infected lymphoid cells in a culture (stimulated human peripheral blood lymphocytes and cell lines) can also be quantified by cell-to-cell transmission of HIV into the HeLa-CD4(+)-beta-galactosidase monolayer. Infections by simian immunodeficiency viruses are similarly detected. This assay has been used to determine the dose response of drugs, the half-life of HIV at 37 degrees C, and the appearance of infectious particles after virus infection.
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PMID:Activation of a beta-galactosidase recombinant provirus: application to titration of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and HIV-infected cells. 211 May 96

The Epstein-Barr virus immediate-early gene product BZLF1 transactivates the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) long terminal repeat (LTR). The BZLF1 gene product caused an 18-fold increase in beta-galactosidase activity from an HIV-1 LTR lacZ expression vector, whereas the HIV-1 transactivator tat caused a 44-fold increase in beta-galactosidase activity. When cells were transfected with both BZLF1 (pEBV-Z) and tat (pTAT3) expression vectors, as well as HIV-1 LTR lacZ plasmid (pLRON), a 214-fold increase in beta-galactosidase activity was observed. This result suggests a synergistic effect of BZLF1 and tat on HIV-1 LTR-directed lacZ gene expression. Analysis of quantitative BZLF1 and tat requirements for maximal HIV-1 LTR activation indicates that BZLF1 does not reduce the amount of tat required for maximal LTR activation, as would be expected if the BZLF1 synergistic effect was due to increased tat gene expression. Thus, coordinate effects of BZLF1 and tat on the HIV-1 LTR or its transcript are probably responsible for synergistic HIV-1 LTR activation.
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PMID:The Epstein-Barr virus BZLF1 gene product activates the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 5' long terminal repeat. 217 93

The tat gene of HIV is a strong activator of the viral LTR. The Tat protein contains a highly basic domain that is important for its transport to the nuclear/nucleolar locations. The Tat basic domain when fused to Escherichia coli beta-galactosidase directed the chimeric protein to the nucleus and nucleolus. Tat mutants lacking the entire basic domain were severely defective in trans-activation. Substitution of the basic domain of Tat with that of the functionally unrelated HIV-1 Rev protein targeted the chimeric protein to the nucleolus and restored the function of Tat. In contrast, substitution with the nuclear targeting signal (NLS) of SV40 T antigen targeted the chimeric protein to the nucleus and accumulation in the nucleolar region was excluded. The Tat-NLS chimeric protein did not restore the trans-activation function of Tat efficiently. These results indicate that the arginine-rich basic domain of the trans-activator, Tat, and post-transcriptional trans-regulator, Rev, are functionally similar with regard to trans-activation of HIV-1 LTR.
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PMID:Functional substitution of the basic domain of the HIV-1 trans-activator, Tat, with the basic domain of the functionally heterologous Rev. 218 74

Site-directed mutagenesis was used to identify functional domains present within the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) tat protein. Transient cotransfection experiments showed that derivatives of tat protein with amino acid substitutions either at the amino-terminal end or at cysteine residue 22, 37, 27, or 25 were no longer able to transactivate HIV long terminal repeat-directed gene expression. Incubation of Tat expressed in Escherichia coli with zinc demonstrated that both authentic Tat and cysteine mutation derivatives could form metal-protein complexes. The tat proteins that contained alterations within the cluster of positively charged amino acid residues retained their ability to transactivate gene expression, albeit at markedly reduced levels. Indirect immunofluorescence showed that the authentic tat protein and the amino-terminal and cysteine substitution mutants all localized in the nucleus, with accumulation being most evident in the nucleolus. In contrast, nuclear accumulation was greatly reduced with the basic-substitution mutations. Consistent with this result, a fusion protein that contained amino acids GRKKR, derived from the basic region, fused to the amino-terminal end of beta-galactosidase also accumulated within the nucleus. These results demonstrate that the 14-kilodalton tat protein contains at least three distinct functional domains affecting localization and transactivation.
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PMID:Structural and functional characterization of human immunodeficiency virus tat protein. 253 18

Since HIV tat function is essential for the HIV infectious cycle, it represents an important possible target of therapeutic intervention for HIV infection. Stable human cell lines were derived that express high levels of beta-galactosidase under the combined control of the transacting HIV-1 tat gene product and the cis-acting HIV-1 LTR. The tat gene product induces LTR-linked gene expression approximately 1000-fold in this system. The high level of expression of beta-galactosidase under HIV tat and LTR control in stable cell lines allows rapid spectrophotometric quantitation of beta-galactosidase enzymatic activity from fewer than 5000 cells seeded in a microtiter plate well. Such cell lines provide a virus-free system for the high-capacity screening of compounds for the ability to interfere with HIV tat-mediated transactivation of gene expression.
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PMID:Stable indicator cell lines exhibiting HIV-1 tat function. 254 31

Randomly sheared DNA fragments from HTLV-III proviral DNA were cloned into an E. coli open reading frame (ORF) expression vector. The inserted ORF DNA was expressed in E. coli transformants as a polypeptide fused to the lambda CI protein at the amino terminus and to beta-galactosidase at the carboxyl terminus. The reactivity of the recombinant peptides with antibodies from sera of AIDS patients was determined by the Western blot technique. The coordinates of the DNA inserts of the immunoreactive clones were then determined by DNA sequencing. A clone, ORF 628, was found to contain a short DNA segment located between the sor and env genes (nucleotide positions 5367 to 5597), a region previously thought to be noncoding. Inspection of the DNA sequences of this clone and of other HTLV-III isolates revealed the presence of a small ORF located between nucleotide position 5411 and 5625, capable of encoding a polypeptide of 72 amino acids. The biosynthesis of the polypeptide of ORF 628 initiates from an ATG codon within the HTLV-III insert. The fusion protein of ORF 628 was partially purified by affinity chromatography on CH Sepharose 4B coupled to a beta-galactosidase ligand, and tested against a panel of sera from AIDS patients by Western blot analysis. Approximately 35% of the sera from patients with AIDS or ARC contained antibodies reactive with the peptide. The DNA region spanned by ORF 628 is now thought to be the major functional element of the trans-activator gene, tat.
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PMID:Reactivity of E. coli-derived trans-activating protein of human T lymphotropic virus type III with sera from patients with acquired immune deficiency syndrome. 301 99

The role of the cytoplasmic tail and transmembrane anchor of the human parainfluenza virus type 3 (HPIV3) hemagglutinin-neuraminidase (HN) glycoprotein in promoting cell fusion was investigated. A series of amino terminal deletion mutants (d10, d20, d27, d31, d40, d44, and d73) were compared for processing, cell surface expression, and maintenance of their biological attributes by recombinant expression of mutant genes using a plasmid vector (pcDL-SR alpha-296) in CV-1 and HeLa cells. To determine the fusion promoting activity (FPA) of the various mutant proteins, a simple assay was developed which quantified the fusion of two different HeLa cell types. One of the cell types, HeLa-tat, constitutively expressed the human immunodeficiency virus type I (HIV-1) tat protein from a Moloney murine leukemia virus long terminal repeat (LTR), while the second cell type, HeLa beta-gal, contained a reporter gene, beta-galactosidase, under the control of an HIV1-LTR. Fusion of mixed HeLa cell monolayers (50:50, HeLa-tat: HeLa beta-gal), following transfection with appropriate plasmids, resulted in transactivation of the reporter gene which was then measured by direct staining of cells or using cell lysates with appropriate substrates. Cell fusion was observed only when both the HPIV3 F and functional HN proteins were both co-transfected into cells. Of the seven deletion mutants examined, only d10, d20, d27 and d31 were expressed to significant levels on the cell surface and only these four mutant proteins maintained FPA. Compared with the wt HN at 48 h post transfection, d10 and d20 had enhanced FPA (119% and 158%, respectively), while d27 and d31 were diminished (74% and > 4%, respectively). Analysis of protein expression suggested that the reason for the increase in FPA of the mutant proteins was that the levels of protein expressed at the cell surface was twofold or threefold higher for d10 and d20, respectively, compared to the wt HN.
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PMID:Human parainfluenza virus type 3: analysis of the cytoplasmic tail and transmembrane anchor of the hemagglutinin-neuraminidase protein in promoting cell fusion. 765 94

Bacterial beta-galactosidase is one of several reporter enzymes used in studying the transcriptional activity of eukaryotic promoters. Although it is one of the easiest and least expensive enzymes to assay, its use has been limited because of its low sensitivity, which is due in part to endogenous levels of beta-galactosidase in many eukaryotic cells. In this study, we compared the pH and salt requirements, as well as the heat stability, of bacterial and eukaryotic beta-galactosidase in order to identify conditions which would inhibit the beta-galactosidase enzyme endogenous to eukaryotic cells without adversely affecting the activity of either purified bacterial beta-galactosidase or reporter beta-galactosidase produced after transfection of expression vectors into eukaryotic cells. Heat treatment at 50 degrees C for 1 h inactivated the beta-galactosidase activity endogenous to several eukaryotic cell lines by as much as 40-fold without adversely affecting the activity of bacterial beta-galactosidase. This treatment increased the sensitivity of this reporter enzyme and allowed the development of a rapid and quantifiable screening assay for HIV-1 tat inhibitors.
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PMID:Selective inactivation of eukaryotic beta-galactosidase in assays for inhibitors of HIV-1 TAT using bacterial beta-galactosidase as a reporter enzyme. 829 11

Several systems for the detection of HIV-1 have been described in which HIV-1-susceptible cells contain a reporter gene (chloramphenicol acetyltransferase, beta-galactosidase, or alkaline phosphatase) under the control of the HIV-1 long terminal repeat (LTR). Upon infection by HIV-1, the expression of the viral tat product increases transcription from the HIV-1 LTR promoter, leading to high-level expression of the reporter gene product. Previously described reporter systems require processing of the cells by lysis, fixation, or other steps following infection to detect the reporter gene product. In the present study, the Aequorea green fluorescent protein S65T variant (GFP-S65T) was used in a reporter system for detecting HIV-1. HeLa-CD4 cells transfected with the plasmid pRH1, which encodes GFP-S65T under the control of the HIV-1 LTR promoter, and either co-transfected with a plasmid encoding the HIV-1 tat product or superinfected with HIV-1, expressed high levels of GFP-S65T, which was readily detected by fluorescence microscopy and fluorescence-activated cell-sorting analysis. The advantages of this system include its simplicity, sensitivity, and ability to detect and sort live HIV-1-infected cells using readily available instruments. The construction of cell lines stably transfected with pRH1 will provide a tool for titering HIV-1 and sorting HIV-1-infected cells.
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PMID:Detection of HIV-1 infection with a green fluorescent protein reporter system. 894 67


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