6th International AIDS Conference


San Francisco, California, USA — June 20-23, 1990

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Molecular analysis of HIV-1 tat and HTLV-I tax: mechanisms of trans-activation.

Int Conf AIDS 1990 Jun 20-23; 6:322 (abstract no. 1033)
Jeang KT, Berkhout B, Gatignol A, Semmes O; Laboratory of Molecular Microbiology, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, 20892, USA

OBJECTIVE: To compare and contrast the mechanism(s) of action of HIV-1 Tat and HTLV-I Tax.

METHODS: Transient transfection assays based upon the detection of reporter gene expression.

RESULTS: We have found that trans-activation of the HIV-1 LTR depends upon a TAR RNA structure and also upon upstream DNA sequences in U3. Biologically active Tat expressed from E. Coli has sequence non-specific binding property for both DNA and RNA. Under certain conditions we have observed the ability of a novel form of HIV-1 Tat to trans-activate a heterologous promoter. The trans-activation by HTLV-I Tax appears to work only through a LTR DNA target. Tax has no sequence specific DNA binding properties. We have results implicating a role for cellular AP-1 protein in the activation of the HTLV-I LTR.

CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that cellular factors play a role in both trans-activation by Tat and Tax. Molecular models for the interactions between Tat and Tax with target LTR sequences will be discussed.

Keywords: AEGIS, Human T-lymphotropic virus 1, HIV Long Terminal Repeat, HIV-1, Antithrombin III, Peptide Hydrolases, Receptors, Interleukin-2, Promoter Regions (Genetics), Transcription Factors, antithrombin III-protease complex, APECED protein, analysis, genetics, ICA6

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