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Query: UMLS:C0019693 (HIV)
 170,526 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Replication of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1) depends upon the viral TAT protein. TAT stimulates gene expression via a target response sequence (TAR) located within the HIV-1 LTR. As TAR is located in the transcribed region it could act as a signal in either the DNA, the RNA, or both. To test whether TAT acts on transcription and/or posttranscriptionally, we produced TAT in yeast and monitored its activity after microinjection into the nucleus or cytoplasm of Xenopus oocytes. The TAT protein stimulated TAR-dependent expression, but this activation was not inhibited by transcriptional inhibitors. Furthermore, TAR-containing RNA, produced in vitro, was "activated" by TAT after coinjection into oocytes. This activation only occurred, however, when the RNA was injected into the nucleus and not into the cytoplasm. Our data indicate, therefore, that in the Xenopus system TAT acts on presynthesized RNA and that the nucleus is involved in this action.
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PMID:HIV-1 TAT "activates" presynthesized RNA in the nucleus. 254 79

We have addressed the capacity of HIV-1 infection to alter the growth of primary CD4+ T cells, but at the clonal level. Single T cells were expanded in the presence of PHA, IL-2, and small numbers of accessory dendritic cells. We report two new findings. First, T cells from seropositive individuals, even those with AIDS and markedly reduced CD4+ counts, exhibit a normal cloning efficiency, and proliferative capacity. This result is in contrast to two prior reports of a low cloning efficiency in CD4+ T cells from HIV-1-infected patients. Second, when we added high doses of exogenous HIV-1 to T cell clones from control subjects, we observed infection but not cytotoxicity or loss of CD4+ cells, following addition of virus stocks at days 0, 3, and/or 7 of clonal growth. The same HIV-1 isolates markedly reduced CD4+ T cells in bulk mononuclear cultures. When tested at day 11, HIV-1 mRNA was expressed in some cells of exogenously infected clones by in situ hybridization; when tested at day 18, several clones could transactivate a TAT-sensitive cell line. These findings suggest that the loss of CD4+ T cells in infected individuals is not the inevitable result of the activation of latent infection, or spread of a productive infection, during clonal growth.
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PMID:Most CD4+ T cells from human immunodeficiency virus-1 infected patients can undergo prolonged clonal expansion. 257 7

A plasmid (pBH10R3) containing a 9-kb Sst I fragment of HIV-1 (clone BH-10) inserted in pSP64, an in vitro expression vector, has been used for the transcription of anti-sense HIV-1 RNA. With this system, the transcripts obtained in vitro were not usually full length (1 to 2 kb long) and they predominantly span the 3' end ORF and ENV regions of the viral genome. We have rearranged the HIV-1 genomic sequences with respect to the SP6 promoter in the pSP64 vector and have obtained a series of new constructs allowing the expression in vitro of RNA transcripts complementary to other regions in the HIV-1 genome, including the 5' end of the ENV region as well as the TAT, POL, and GAG regions. In fact, the combined use of these constructs as templates for in vitro transcription allows the production of RNA probes spanning the entire viral genome. Compared with the 1- to 2-kb probes mentioned above, the combined use of such probes results in a several-fold increase in the sensitivity of molecular hybridization for the detection of HIV-1 nucleic acid sequences. Also, these constructs enable the preparation of RNA probes that have the potential to detect restriction polymorphisms throughout the HIV-1 genome.
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PMID:Plasmid library for the transcription of RNA probes complementary to the entire genome of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1). 280 30

For a few of retroviruses, the level of synthesis of viral proteins is greatly increased in the presence of a transactivator gene which is encoded by the virus. For instance, for HIV, TAT acts on target sequences present in the viral long terminal repeat (LTR). HIV-1 recombinant retrovirus (RRV), where the gag, pol and part of env genes have been exchanged for the reporter nlsLacZ gene, expresses the reporter gene only in presence of TAT. When the RRV is tat defective, this activity can be complemented by tat present on a second molecule. The expression of nlsLacZ can then be detected by a simple histochemical staining. If this complementation can also be provided by a wild type virus, then their detection and titration would be greatly simplified.
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PMID:[Toward an unpublished method of detecting human retroviruses: activation of HIV-1 LacZ recombinant provirus by the tat gene product]. 314 19

A number of minimised hammerhead ribozymes (minizymes) which lack stem II have been kinetically characterised. These minizymes display optimal cleavage activity at temperatures around 37 degrees C. The cleavage reactions of the minizymes are first order in hydroxide ion concentration up to around pH 9.3 above which the cleavage rate constants decline rapidly. The reactions show a biphasic dependence on magnesium-ion concentration; one of the interactions has an apparent dissociation constant of around 20 mM while the other appears to be very weak, showing no sign of saturation at 200 mM MgCl2. The minizymes are significantly less active than comparable, full-size ribozymes when cleaving short substrates. However, at a particular site in a transcribed TAT gene from HIV-1, minizymes are more effective than ribozymes.
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PMID:In vitro activity of minimised hammerhead ribozymes. 747 37

Foscarnet (phosphonoformic acid) is a pyrophosphate analog that inhibits the replication of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) in vitro and in patients with AIDS. HIV-1 resistance to foscarnet has not been reported despite long-term foscarnet therapy of AIDS patients with cytomegalovirus disease. We therefore attempted to select foscarnet-resistant HIV-1 in vitro by serial endpoint passage of virus in 400 microM foscarnet. After 13 cycles of passage in MT-2 cells, virus exhibiting > or = 8.5-fold foscarnet resistance was isolated. The reverse transcriptase (RT) from resistant virions exhibited a similar level of foscarnet resistance in enzyme inhibition assays (approximately 10-fold resistance). Foscarnet-resistant virus showed increased susceptibility to 3'-azido-3'-deoxythymidine (90-fold) and to the HIV-1-specific RT inhibitors TIBO R82150 (30-fold) and nevirapine (20-fold). DNA sequence analysis of RT clones from resistant virus revealed the coexistence of two mutations in all clones: Gln-161 to Leu (CAA to CTA) and His-208 to Tyr (CAT to TAT). Sequence analysis of six clinical HIV-1 isolates showing reduced susceptibility to foscarnet revealed the Tyr-208 mutation in two, the Leu-161 mutation in one, and a Trp-88-to-Ser or -Gly mutation in four isolates. Site-specific mutagenesis and production of mutant recombinant viruses demonstrated that the Leu-161, Ser-88, and Tyr-208 mutations reduced HIV-1 susceptibility to foscarnet 10.5-, 4.3-, and 2.4-fold, respectively, in MT-2 cells. In the crystal structure of HIV-1 RT, the Gln-161 residue lies in the alpha E helix beneath the putative deoxynucleoside triphosphate (dNTP) binding site. The Gln-161-to-Leu mutation may affect the structure of the dNTP binding site and its affinity for foscarnet. The location of the Trp-88 residue in the Beta5a strand of HIV-1 RT suggest that the Ser-88 mutation affects template-primer binding, as do several mutations that affect RT susceptibility to nucleoside analogs.
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PMID:Novel mutations in reverse transcriptase of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 reduce susceptibility to foscarnet in laboratory and clinical isolates. 754 60

Acyclic 6-phenylselenenyl- and 6-phenylthiopyrimidine derivatives are potent and specific inhibitors of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1). The development of in vitro resistance to two derivatives, 5-ethyl-1-(ethoxymethyl)-(6-phenylthio)-uracil (E-EPU), was evaluated by serial passage of HIV-1 in increasing concentrations of inhibitor. HIV-1 variants exhibiting > 500-fold resistance to E-EPSeU and E-EPU were isolated after sequential passage in 1, 5, and 10 microM inhibitor. The resistant variants exhibited coresistance to related acyclic 6-substituted pyrimidines and the HIV-1-specific inhibitors (+)-(5S)-4,5,6,7-tetrahydro-5- pyrimidines and the HIV-1-specific inhibitors (+)-(5S)-4,5,6,7-tetrahydro-5- methyl-6-(3-methyl-2-butenyl)imidazo[4,5,1-jk]benzodiazepin-2(1H)- thione (TIBO R82150) and nevirapine, but remained susceptible to 3'-azido-3'-deoxythymidine, 2',3'-dideoxycytidine, 2',3'-dideoxyinosine, and phosphonoformic acid. DNA sequence analysis of reverse transcriptase (RT) derived from E-EPSeU-resistant virus identified a Tyr (TAT)-to-Cys (TGT) mutation at either codon 188 (Cys-188; 9 of 15 clones) or codon 181 (Cys-181; 5 of 15 clones). The same amino acid changes were found in RT from E-EPU-resistant virus, but the Cys-181 mutation was more common (9 of 10 clones) than the Cys-188 mutation (1 of 10 clones). Site-specific mutagenesis and production of mutant recombinant viruses demonstrated that both the Cys-181 and Cys-188 mutations cause resistance to E-EPSeU and E-EPU. Of the two mutations, the Cys-188 substitution produced greater E-EPSeU and E-EPU resistance. The predominance of the Cys-188 mutation in E-EPSeU-resistant variants has not been noted for other classes of HIV-1 specific RT inhibitors. HIV-1 resistance is likely to limit the therapeutic efficacy of acyclic 6-substituted pyrimidines if they are used as monotherapy.
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PMID:Resistance of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 to acyclic 6-phenylselenenyl- and 6-phenylthiopyrimidines. 784 May 79

Recently several groups reported a dramatic improvement of reporter gene transfection efficiency using a fusogenic peptide, derived from the Influenza hemagglutinin envelop protein. This peptide changes conformation at acidic pH and destabilizes the endosomal membranes thus resulting in an increased cytoplasmic gene delivery. We describe the use of a similar fusogenic peptide in order to improve the antiviral potency of antisense oligodeoxynucleotides (anti TAT) and oligophosphorothioates (S-dC28) on de novo HIV infected CEM-SS lymphocytes in serum-free medium. We observed as 5 to 10 fold improvement of the anti HIV activities of the phosphodiester antisense oligonucleotides after chemical coupling to the peptide in a one to one ratio by a disulfide or thioether bond. No toxicities were observed at the effective doses (0.1-1 microM). No sequence specificity was obtained and the fusogenic peptide possessed some antiviral activities on its own (IC50: 6 microM). A S-dC28-peptide disulfide linked conjugate and a streptavidin-peptide-biotinylated S-dC28 adduct showed similar activities as the free S-dC28 oligonucleotide (IC50: 0.1-1 nM). As expected, all the compounds were less potent in the presence of serum but the relative contribution of peptide coupling was maintained.
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PMID:Improved biological activity of antisense oligonucleotides conjugated to a fusogenic peptide. 798 18

The human immunodeficiency virus type I (HIV-1) nuclear protein, Tat, is a potent transactivating factor that stimulates the rate of transcription of responsive promoters. Evidently, to exert its activity, Tat requires to be localized in close proximity of the transcription initiation site. Previous studies in our laboratory have demonstrated that Tat has the capacity to increase transcriptional activity of the late gene of a human neurotropic virus JC (JCV) in glial cells. In the present study, using deletion mutation analysis, we have identified a region upstream of the JCV late RNA start sites, termed upstream target (upTAR), that positively responds to Tat activation in glial cells. Using synthetic oligonucleotides spanning the upTAR sequence linked to a heterologous promoter, we have identified a GA/GC-rich region (GGAGGCGGAGGC) that confers TAT responsiveness preferentially on glial cell lines. Using gel mobility-shift and UV cross-linking assays, we have demonstrated that four major complexes (a-d) from glial and HeLa (non-glial) cells interact with the upTAR sequence. Whereas the molecular weights of the participant proteins in these complexes are similar in both glial and non-glial extracts, glial cells are enriched in proteins that form a major c complex. Interestingly, the participant proteins in complex c are developmentally regulated during brain development. The possible role of these proteins in increasing local concentrations of Tat in the vicinity of the JCV late RNA start sites is discussed.
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PMID:GA/GC-rich sequence confers Tat responsiveness to human neurotropic virus promoter, JCVL, in cells derived from central nervous system. 838 57

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)-infected subjects show a high incidence of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection. This suggests that EBV may function as a cofactor that affects HIV-1 activation and may play a major role in the progression of AIDS. To test this hypothesis, we generated two EBV-negative human B-cell lines that stably express the EBNA2 gene of EBV. These EBNA2-positive cell lines were transiently transfected with plasmids that carry either the wild type or deletion mutants of the HIV-1 long terminal repeat (LTR) fused to the chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) gene. There was a consistently higher HIV-1 LTR activation in EBNA2-expressing cells than in control cells, which suggested that EBNA2 proteins could activate the HIV-1 promoter, possibly by inducing nuclear factors binding to HIV-1 cis-regulatory sequences. To test this possibility, we used CAT-based plasmids carrying deletions of the NF-kappa B (pNFA-CAT), Sp1 (pSpA-CAT), or TAR (pTAR-CAT) region of the HIV-1 LTR and retardation assays in which nuclear proteins from EBNA2-expressing cells were challenged with oligonucleotides encompassing the NF-kappa B or Sp1 region of the HIV-1 LTR. We found that both the NF-kappa B and the Sp1 sites of the HIV-1 LTR are necessary for EBNA2 transactivation and that increased expression resulted from the induction of NF-kappa B-like factors. Moreover, experiments with the TAR-deleted pTAR-CAT and with the tat-expressing pAR-TAT plasmids indicated that endogenous Tat-like proteins could participate in EBNA2-mediated activation of the HIV-1 LTR and that EBNA2 proteins can synergize with the viral tat transactivator. Transfection experiments with plasmids expressing the EBNA1, EBNA3, and EBNALP genes did not cause a significant HIV-1 LTR activation. Thus, it appears that among the latent EBV genes tested, EBNA2 was the only EBV gene active on the HIV-1 LTR. The transactivation function of EBNA2 was also observed in the HeLa epithelial cell line, which suggests that EBV and HIV-1 infection of non-B cells may result in HIV-1 promoter activation. Therefore, a specific gene product of EBV, EBNA2, can transactivate HIV-1 and possibly contribute to the clinical progression of AIDS.
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PMID:Epstein-Barr virus nuclear antigen 2 transactivates the long terminal repeat of human immunodeficiency virus type 1. 838 79


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