Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UMLS:C0021051 (immunodeficiency)
 71,517 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The trans-activating region (TAR) RNA-Tat protein interaction is important for activation of transciption in the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). A model complex for this interaction composed of the two base bulge HIV-2 TAR and the amide derivative of arginine was studied by multidimensional heteronuclear NMR. Because of the improved spectral properties of the HIV-2 TAR complex, a larger number of NOEs in the bulge region were observed than in earlier studies of the HIV-1 TAR-argininamide complex. A total of 681 NOE distance restraints were collected and used to determine the solution structure of the HIV-2 TAR-argininamide complex. As observed in the previously proposed model from this lab, the two A-form stems co-axially stack and the critical U23 and the argininamide are located in the major groove. Model calculations including non-experimental restraints indicate that U23 is within hydrogen bonding distance to A27 consistent with the formation of a U x A x U base-triple. Base-triple formation helps open the major groove to increase the accessibility of G26 to hydrogen bond donors from the guanidinium group of argininamide. Argininamide binding is stabilized by stacking of the guanidinium group between the bases of A22 and U23, forming an argininamide sandwich.
 ...
PMID:Solution structure of the HIV-2 TAR-argininamide complex. 912 42

The main transcriptional regulator of the human immunodeficiency virus is the Tat protein, which recognises and binds to a fragment RNA at the 5' end of viral mRNA, named transactivation response element (TAR) RNA. Extensive mutagenesis studies have shown that a region of TAR RNA important for Tat binding involves a set of nucleotides surrounding a characteristic UCU nucleotide bulge. The specific Tat-TAR complex formation enhances the rate of transcription elongation but inhibition of that interaction prevents the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) replication. If so, a possibility of virus inactivation would be a site specific degradation of the TAR RNA element. To break down and inactivate TAR RNA, we designated the anti-hammerhead (HH) ribozyme to cleave nucleosides within the bulge. We showed for the first time the new type of the AUC hammerhead ribozyme, which hydrolyses specifically the TAR RNA element at C8 nucleotide in the bulge (C24 in the standard TAR RNA numbering). The cleavage reaction has broad magnesium requirements. Mn and particularly Ca are less efficient. Argininamide interferes with the cleavage of TAR RNA induced by the ribozyme. These results have two implications; (i) structural, where the HIV-1 TAR RNA element in solution occurs in equilibrium of only two forms, one of which, a double stranded RNA, meets structural requirements for ribozyme pairing and cleavage, and (ii) functional, the HH ribozyme can be explored for an inactivation of HIV-1 through the TAR RNA element deintegration.
 ...
PMID:The specific hydrolysis of HIV-1 TAR RNA element with the anti-TAR hammerhead ribozyme: structural and functional implications. 1132 24