Biomedical subjects

F W Ruscetti

Publications and source records attributed to F W Ruscetti.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

PubMed1994

Inhibitory cytokine circuits involving transforming growth factor-beta, interferon-gamma, and interleukin-2 in human monocyte activation.

We have previously reported that transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-beta 1) inhibits interleukin-6 (IL-6) induction by IL-2 and IL-1 in fresh human monocytes. We investigated the effects of TGF-beta 1 on the expression of tumoricidal activity induced by IL-2 or interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) in human monocytes. We showed that TGF-beta 1 specifically inhibited, in a dose-dependent manner, IL-2-induced but not IFN-gamma-induced monocyte tumoricidal activity. The inhibitory effects of TGF-beta 1 on IL-2-activated monocytes were not caused by down-modulation of the IL-2 receptor beta (IL-2R beta) because the treatment of monocytes with IL-2 and TGF-beta 1 increased IL-2R beta mRNA expression. However, we found that TGF-beta 1 down-modulated IL-2-induced IL-2R gamma mRNA, which may be responsible for the TGF-beta 1 inhibition of monocyte activation by IL-2. The resistance of the IFN-gamma-induced activation to the inhibitory effects of TGF-beta 1 could be caused by the ability of IFN-gamma to decrease TGF-beta 1 receptor expression, as shown by cross-linking experiments. Overall, these results showed that TGF-beta 1 is a powerful inhibitor of IL-2- but not of IFN-gamma-induced activation of monocytes to a cytotoxic stage. This differential effect may be attributed to modulation of cytokine receptor expression.

Cells, Cultured↗

PubMed1994

Administration of recombinant human interleukin-7 to mice induces the exportation of myeloid progenitor cells from the bone marrow to peripheral sites.

The administration of recombinant human interleukin-7 (rhIL-7) to mice twice a day for 7 days does not appreciably change bone marrow (BM) cellularity, but does result in a threefold to fivefold increase in the total number of leukocytes in the spleen, an eightfold to 10-fold increase in the total number of nonparenchymal cells (NPC) obtained from the liver, and up to a 20-fold increase in the total number of peripheral white blood cells (WBC). This regimen of rhIL-7 administration also causes a profound reduction in the total number of progenitors in the BM for both single-lineage colony-forming units-culture (CFU-c) (> 90%) and multilineage CFU-granulocyte, erythroid, monocyte, megakaryocyte (CFU-GEMM) (> 99%) colonies. In contrast, mice treated with rhIL-7 exhibited increases in both CFU-c (20- to 40-fold, 20-fold, and 15- to 40-fold) and CFU-GEMM (8- to 10-fold, 30-fold, and 6- to 10-fold) cultured from the peripheral blood, spleen, and NPC, respectively. The increase in CFU in the NPC was accompanied by a fivefold increase in the number of MAC-1+ cells and a ninefold increase in the number of 8C5bright+ cells. Splenectomy of mice before the administration of rhIL-7 further increased the total number of WBC, NPC, and myeloid progenitors as compared with the rhIL-7-treated nonsplenectomized mice. Finally, selective depletion of the BM by intraperitoneal administration of 89Sr (98% reduction in BM cellularity and > 99% reduction in BM myeloid progenitors) abrogated the rhIL-7-induced increases in cellularity and myeloid progenitor number in the peripheral blood, spleen, and NPC. These results show that the changes in myelopoiesis observed after in vivo administration of rhIL-7 to mice result largely from the emigration of myeloid progenitors from the BM through the blood to the spleen, liver, and, possibly, other peripheral organs.

Animals↗

PubMed1994

Extracellular human T-cell lymphotropic virus type I Tax protein induces cytokine production in adult human microglial cells.

Tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP) is caused by human T-cell lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I) infection. Although the virus infects T cells in vivo and is capable of infecting microglia in vitro, the inflammatory demyelination has not been linked to virus in central nervous system tissue. Thus, indirect mechanisms (e.g., cytokines) could be involved in demyelination and inflammation. The ability of HTLV-I Tax protein to induce tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta), and IL-6 in primary adult human microglia and peripheral blood macrophages (PBMs) was examined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Tax (20 ng/ml) induced TNF-alpha in microglia (from undetectable or low basal levels to 215-1,075 pg/ml, mean 576 +/- 375 pg/ml, n = 4) and in PBMs (70-1,900, mean 646 +/- 844 pg/ml, n = 4). This induction was dose dependent, Tax specific, and maximal at 8 hours after stimulation. IL-6 levels in microglia increased from a basal level of 368 +/- 194 to 664 +/- 270 pg/ml 24 hours after Tax stimulation. In contrast, IL-1 beta levels were modestly induced (< or = 26 pg/ml). An increase in mRNA levels of the three cytokines was observed by semiquantitative RT-PCR (TNF-alpha = 28-fold; IL-6 = 5.6-fold; IL-1 beta = 3.6-fold). Thus, in HAM/TSP, extracellular Tax released from infiltrating T cells could induce cytokine release by microglia and contribute to demyelination and inflammation in the absence of detectable virus.

Adult↗

PubMed1994

IL-4 and IL-13 have overlapping but distinct effects on HIV production in monocytes.

In HIV-1-infected monocytes and monocytoid cell lines, viral expression can be observed as high-level production, restricted (chronic low-level) expression, and latency (no viral expression). Interleukin-13 (IL-13) and IL-4, which have remarkedly similar deactivating effects on inflammatory monocyte functions, were studied for their regulation of HIV expression in monocytes. Pretreatment of peripheral monocytes for 48-72 h with IL-13 markedly decreased acute HIV infection, whereas IL-4 increased it. Similar effects were seen when the U1 and R-THP-1 monocytoid cell lines with restricted HIV expression were treated with these cytokines. However, when these continuously producing cell lines were chronically treated with cytokines, IL-13 increased HIV production. Neither IL-4 nor IL-13 stimulated HIV expression in latently infected cells. In chronically infected cells, several cytokines reduced viral mRNA. Both IL-4 and IL-13 increased monocyte aggregate formation, but only IL-4 ultimately stimulated cytolysis of HIV-infected monocytes as well as increased apoptosis of U1. In the presence of tumor necrosis factor alpha or IL-6, which upregulate HIV expression, IL-13 could no longer suppress HIV expression. These results indicate that IL-4 and IL-13, although closely related in modulating monocyte function, can have divergent effects on HIV expression in monocytes. Collectively, these data suggest that there exists a complex cytokine tissue environment with positive regulators of HIV expression able to override negative regulators.

Cells, Cultured↗

PubMed1994

Prototypical HTLV-I/II infection is rare in LGL leukemia.

The etiology of LGL leukemia is not known; however, we recently detected HTLV-II in a patient with LGL leukemia. In this study, we found that sera from 6 of 28 patients with LGL leukemia were positive for HTLV-I/II using a whole virus ELISA; moreover, the ELISA-negative sera were near the positive cut-off value. Therefore, we performed additional studies on these sera using commercially available assays which can confirm and distinguish HTLV-I from HTLV-II infection. Serum from only one patient was confirmed positive using conventional criteria (HTLV-II+). Sera from 25 patients (89%) had indeterminate reactivity on Western blot assays. Of these, sera from 21 (84%) reacted to gag protein p24; 12 (48%) reacted with recombinant env protein p21e, and 10 (40%) reacted with both. We could not detect HTLV-I/II pol or pX gene sequences in these patients using polymerase chain reaction analyses, with the exception of the HTLV-II-infected patient described previously. These data show that most patients with LGL leukemia are not infected with prototypical HTLV-I or HTLV-II. The frequent reactivity of patient sera to HTLV-I/II gag protein p24 and to env protein p21e, however, suggests that a deleted or variant form of HTLV-I/II may be associated with LGL leukemia.

Blotting, Western↗

PubMed1994

Immortalized hemopoietic cells with stem cell properties.

We have established a hemopoietic cell line, BL3, that possesses a rearranged retroviral genome, which we used as a genetic tag for their engraftment into lethally irradiated mice. Analysis of recipients up to 7 months after engraftment indicates that the marker was present in differentiated cells of various hemopoietic organs, in colony-forming cells, pre-CFU-S-forming cells, and in organs of secondary recipients from bone marrow cells of primary recipients. BL3 cells are Thy-1+, Sca-1+, B220-, Mac-1-, and Gr-1-. They express GATA-1 and are able to develop "cobblestones" with stromal cells. They do not express and respond to several hemopoietic growth factors known to facilitate marrow recovery. However, they are negatively regulated by TGF beta and can be stimulated by mitogen-stimulated spleen cell-conditioned medium. We conclude that BL3 cells possess properties of hemopoietic stem cells, including their capability to contribute to long-term repopulation.

Animals↗

PubMed1994

Differential effect of transforming growth factor-beta 1 on the activation of human naive and memory CD4+ T lymphocytes.

Transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-beta 1) can have stimulatory or inhibitory effects on cell growth. For several cell types, the effect of TGF-beta 1 was found to correlate with the differentiation stage of the cells and the presence of other cytokines. We have studied here the influence of TGF-beta 1 on CD4+ T cell activation in relation to the differentiation stage of the cells by evaluating the effect of TGF-beta 1 on the proliferative responses of purified CD4+CD45RA+ (unprimed) and CD4+CD45RO+ (primed) lymphocytes. Under certain conditions, TGF-beta 1 exerted a co-stimulatory effect on peripheral blood CD4+CD45RA+ T cells whereas the outgrowth of CD4+CD45RO+ T cells was suppressed in any activation system tested. The enhancement of proliferative responses by TGF-beta 1 in TCR/CD3 or CD2 stimulated cultures of CD45RA+ cells involved up-regulation of CD25 expression and was dependent on the presence of exogenous IL-2 or CD28 mAbs; IL-7 driven proliferative responses were suppressed by TGF-beta 1. These observations were confirmed in experiments with purified cord blood (CB) CD4+ T cells inasmuch as addition of TGF-beta 1 caused a 2- to 7-fold increase in IL-2 driven proliferative responses of these cells. Finally we show that, in contrast to the effect of TGF-beta 1 during primary stimulation of CD CD4+ T cells, TGF-beta 1 suppressed T cell proliferation for approximately 40% in secondary cultures of these cells.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗

PubMed1994

The growth response of Lin-Thy-1+ hematopoietic progenitors to cytokines is determined by the balance between synergy of multiple stimulators and negative cooperation of multiple inhibitors.

The present studies investigated the balance of positive and negative growth signals in direct regulation of hematopoiesis. Interleukin-3 (IL-3) combined with Steel factor (SLF) optimally stimulated proliferation of Lin-Thy-1+ murine bone marrow progenitors in single-cell assays, and that proliferation was inhibited more than 90% by transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-beta 1). Colony-stimulating factor-1 (CSF-1), granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), IL-1, or IL-6 as a third stimulatory growth factor was incapable of counteracting the TGF-beta 1-mediated inhibition of IL-3-plus-SLF-stimulated growth, while G-CSF slightly enhanced the number of TGF-beta 1-resistant clones. As a fourth factor, only IL-1 could partially overcome the TGF-beta 1-induced growth inhibition. While the presence of a cocktail of five additional stimulatory growth factors did not enhanced the frequency of single Lin-Thy-1+ progenitors proliferating in response to IL-3 plus SLF, the number of responding progenitors in the presence of TGF-beta 1 was enhanced nine-fold. Furthermore, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma), but not macrophage inflammatory protein-1 alpha (MIP-1 alpha), cooperated with TGF-beta 1 to reverse the proliferative effects of multiple stimulatory cytokines, resulting in 76% inhibition. Thus, the direct effects of single inhibitory factors on hematopoietic progenitor cell growth can be reversed by multiple stimulatory growth factors, and negative growth factors can directly cooperate to suppress progenitor cell growth stimulated by multiple positive-acting factors.

Animals↗

PubMed1994

Distinct and direct synergistic effects of IL-1 and IL-6 on proliferation and differentiation of primitive murine hematopoietic progenitor cells in vitro.

While interleukin-1 (IL-1) and IL-6 have been demonstrated to synergize with colony-stimulating factors (CSFs) and stem cell factor (SCF) to stimulate myeloid colony formation of primitive hematopoietic progenitor cells, it has not yet been established whether these effects are directly mediated. In the present study, direct effects of IL-1 and IL-6 were examined on primitive Lin-Sca-1+ murine bone-marrow progenitor cells that were cultured and plated individually. IL-1 and IL-6 showed not only overlapping, but also distinct, patterns of direct synergy. While IL-1 or IL-6 had no proliferative effects as single growth factors, IL-1, in combination with granulocyte-macrophage CSF (GM-CSF), IL-3, CSF-1, and SCF, but not granulocyte-CSF (G-CSF), enhanced the cloning frequency of Lin-Sca-1+ progenitors three- to five-fold, whereas IL-6 increased the cloning frequency in response to all four CSFs and SCF two- to seven-fold. In all cases, the size of the colonies observed were increased as well. Furthermore, the combined action of IL-1 and IL-6 resulted in additive or synergistic enhancement of CSF- and SCF-stimulated colony formation of Lin-Sca-1+ high proliferative potential colony-forming cells (HPP-CFCs). Finally, IL-6, but not IL-1, enhanced the number of immature blast cells observed in CSF- and SCF-stimulated cultures.

Animals↗

PubMed1994

Hematologic effects of interleukin-1 and interleukin-6.

Interleukin-1 and interleukin-6 are two of a great number of cytokines involved in the synergistic regulation of hematopoietic progenitor cell growth. Clinical descriptions that suggest several therapeutic uses for interleukin-1 and interleukin-6 have appeared. In either high-dose chemotherapy or bone marrow transplantation, either cytokine can be myeloprotective or myelorestorative and can increase platelet recovery. Also, both cytokines could be useful in stimulating the peripheralization of stem-progenitor cells in vivo. In vitro, both cytokines have proven useful in the ex vivo expansion of hematopoietic progenitor cells and subsequent reinfusion in patients undergoing autologous bone marrow transplantation. Mechanistically, both stimulate production of other regulators of hematopoiesis, induce increased cell surface expression of receptors for hematopoietic growth factors, and shorten the cell cycle transit time of progenitors. Differences in the actions of interleukin-6 and interleukin-1 on highly enriched and purified stem cells are starting to emerge, with proliferation in stem cell factor and interleukin-6 preserving marrow-repopulating ability of stem cells, and the proliferative stimulus of stem cell factor and interleukin-1 leading to more rapid differentiation.

Animals↗

PubMed1993

Severe congenital neutropenia: abnormal growth and differentiation of myeloid progenitors to granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) but normal response to G-CSF plus stem cell factor.

Several mechanisms have been proposed to explain the pathogenesis of severe congenital neutropenia (SCN); however, the mechanism(s) still remains unknown. In particular, clinical observations suggest that abnormal responsiveness of myeloid progenitors to hematopoietic growth factors (HGFs) is a possible mechanism. Therefore, to better define the status of hematopoietic progenitors in the bone marrow (BM) of patients with SCN, the responsiveness of myeloid progenitors to HGFs from two SCN patients was compared with the responsiveness of progenitors from healthy individuals. BM cells (BMCs) from the first SCN patient required higher (10- to 100-fold) concentrations of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) to achieve maximal and half-maximal colony growth in vitro compared with BMCs from controls. In contrast, the dose-response of interleukin-3 (IL-3) and granulocyte-macrophage-CSF (GM-CSF) in colony formation was normal. Interestingly, IL-3, GM-CSF, and G-CSF at optimal doses showed reduced ability to induce neutrophil differentiation of BMCs from a SCN patient compared with BMCs from controls. Despite an abnormal responsiveness of mature myeloid progenitors to G-CSF in this SCN patient, myeloid progenitors responsive to the combination of stem cell factor (SCF) and G-CSF showed normal dose-response. In contrast to G-CSF alone, the combination of G-CSF and SCF induced the formation of neutrophils almost to the same extent compared with cultures of normal BMCs. Furthermore, also on BM progenitor cells obtained from the second patient with SCN, SCF highly synergized with G-CSF to promote neutrophil progenitor cell growth and differentiation in vitro. Thus, these results indicate that one mechanism of the pathogenesis in SCN patients is reduced responsiveness of neutrophil progenitor cells to G-CSF and that SCF can enhance the responsiveness of these cells to G-CSF.

Bone Marrow↗

PubMed1993

TGF-beta is a bidirectional modulator of cytokine receptor expression on murine bone marrow cells. Differential effects of TGF-beta 1 and TGF-beta 3.

Transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta), an immunomodulator, has inhibitory as well as stimulatory effects on bone marrow cells. In this study, we demonstrate that TGF-beta 1 also is a bidirectional modulator of CSF receptor expression on murine bone marrow cells. TGF-beta 1 up-regulated granulocyte-macrophage (GM)-CSF receptor expression in a time- and dose-dependent manner, with a maximum up-regulation of 64% by 48 h at 20 ng/ml. In contrast, TGF-beta 1 down-modulated IL-3 and CSF-1 receptor expression by 54 and 55%, respectively, by 24 h. TGF-beta 1 did not affect G-CSF receptor expression, in agreement with its inability to affect G-CSF-induced proliferation. The CSF receptor modulation induced by TGF-beta 1 preceded its effects on CSF-stimulated proliferation. The effects of TGF-beta on CSF receptor expression were isoform dependent, thus TGF-beta 3 was a 10-fold more potent inhibitor of both IL-3-induced colony formation and IL-3 receptor expression than TGF-beta 1, whereas TGF-beta 1 was a more potent stimulator of GM-CSF-stimulated colonies and GM-CSF receptor expression than TGF-beta 3. Therefore, the ability of TGF-beta to modulate the CSF receptor density/cell and/or the actual number of progenitors expressing CSF receptors directly correlates with the multifunctional effects of TGF-beta in hematopoiesis.

Animals↗

PubMed1993

Formation of fetal rat cardiac cell clones by retroviral transformation: retention of select myocyte characteristics.

Ventricular myocyte (cardiomyocyte) growth is exquisitely regulated such that embryonic and fetal development are the primary periods of active cellular division. This report describes formation of three separate cardiomyocyte cell clones obtained by replication-defective retroviral (v/myc and v-H-ras) transformation of primary cultures of day-16 fetal rat cardiomyocytes. The cell clones do not spontaneously contract, yet they express several cardiac-specific (cardiac troponin-C, alpha-cardiac actin) and associated genes (Connexin 43, Early growth response gene-1) with stable expression of several genes determined through the 28th passage. None of these cell clones express skeletal muscle actin or the skeletal muscle regulatory gene MyoD1; yet all display ultrastructural and biochemical evidence of their cardiac muscle lineage. Molecular and biochemical studies of cardiac-specific gene regulation can be anticipated from the cell clones as it pertains to nuclear transcription factors and transient CAT-based reporter gene constructs. The formation of these cell clones will enable further studies of growth and development of this unique muscle cell population of the cardiovascular system to be performed at the cellular and molecular level.

Animals↗

PubMed1993

Differential expression of Rel family members in human T-cell leukemia virus type I-infected cells: transcriptional activation of c-rel by Tax protein.

The Tax protein of the human T-cell leukemia virus type I (HTLV-I) has been shown to induce nuclear expression of Rel family NF-kappa B-binding proteins. However, under different experimental conditions, different J. H. Kim, Y. Daitoku, and W. G. Greene, J. Virol. 65:6892-6899, 1991). In this study, using specific immunological reagents capable of distinguishing individual members of the Rel family proteins, we show that only c-Rel, not NF-kappa B p50 or p65, is induced in HTLV-I-infected cells. Preferential c-rel induction by HTLV-I infection was detected at the protein and RNA levels as well as in the nuclear NF-kappa B-binding form. Induced c-rel expression was also detected in cells stably transfected with tax cDNA, further correlating the c-rel induction with viral Tax expression. An increase in c-rel mRNA was detected within 3 h after induction of Tax expression, suggesting that this effect is at least partially regulated at the level of transcription. Furthermore, using a particle bombardment method for gene cotransfection, we show that Tax can transcriptionally activate the c-rel promoter in a T-cell line, Jurkat.

Base Sequence↗

PubMed1993

Inhibition of HIV infection by baicalin--a flavonoid compound purified from Chinese herbal medicine.

Baicalin (BA), (formulated as 7-D-glucuronic acid-5,6-dihydroxy-flavone), was purified from the plant Scutellaria Baicalensis Georgi. It has been used as a traditional Chinese herbal medicine. The inhibitory effect of BA against human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1) infection and replication has been studied in vitro. The compound inhibits HIV-1 infection and replication as measured by: (1) a quantitative focal syncytium formation on CEM-ss monolayer cells; and (2) HIV-1 specific core antigen p24 expression and retroviral reverse transcriptase (RT) activity in the HIV-1-infected H9 cells. We have further demonstrated that the enzymatic activity of purified recombinant HIV-1/RT was inhibited by BA. In addition to lymphoid cell lines, the anti-HIV-1 activity of BA was also observed in cultures of primary human peripheral blood mononuclear cells infected with HIV-1 in vitro. Neither cytotoxic nor cytostatic effects on the indicator cells were found under the assay condition. This data suggests that BA may serve as a useful drug for the treatment and prevention of HIV infections.

Antiviral Agents↗

PubMed1993

Increased granulopoiesis after sequential administration of transforming growth factor-beta 1 and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor.

Transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-beta 1) is an inhibitor of the growth and differentiation of immature hematopoietic progenitors in vitro; however, we have demonstrated that TGF-beta 1 can promote granulopoiesis in the presence of granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) in vitro. We therefore examined the effect of the combined administration of TGF-beta 1 and GM-CSF in vivo. First, TGF-beta 1 enhanced the specific binding of GM-CSF (2.0-fold) on bone marrow cells, reaching a maximum 40 hours after injection, while the specific binding of interleukin-3 (IL-3) was unaffected. Using GM-CSF-specific binding to determine the optimal regimen for cytokine administration in vivo, we found that the administration of TGF-beta 1 and GM-CSF in sequence increased myelopoiesis. Total numbers of colony-forming units-granulocyte/macrophage (CFU-GM) and myeloblasts per femur were increased above the level obtained with the simultaneous injection of TGF-beta 1 plus GM-CSF, GM-CSF alone or TGF-beta 1 alone. Further, the sequential administration of TGF-beta 1 and GM-CSF resulted in enhanced numbers of mature granulocytes in both the bone marrow and peripheral blood. In contrast, the sequential combination of TGF-beta 1 and GM-CSF did not enhance the numbers or increase the recovery of erythroid cells in the bone marrow. These results show that TGF-beta 1 in vivo as in vitro has a multifunctional effect on bone marrow progenitors, and by using an optimal combination of TGF-beta 1 and GM-CSF in vivo, one can selectively increase both the central and peripheral granulopoietic compartments.

Animals↗

PubMed1992

Human T-cell leukemia virus type I infection of monocytes and microglial cells in primary human cultures.

The pathogenesis of progressive spastic paraparesis [HTLV-I-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP)], a serious consequence of human T-cell leukemia virus type I (HTLV-I) infection, is unclear. T and B lymphocytes can be naturally infected by HTLV-I, but the susceptibility to HTLV-I infection of other cell types that could contribute to the pathogenesis of HAM/TSP has not been determined. We found that a human monocyte cell line (THP-1), primary human peripheral blood monocytes, and isolated microglial cells but not astrocytes or oligodendroglial cells derived from adult human brain were infected by HTLV-I in vitro. Infection with HTLV-I enhanced the secretion of interleukin 6 in human microglial cell-enriched cultures but did not stimulate the release of interleukin 1 from monocytes or microglial cells. Tumor necrosis factor alpha production was stimulated by HTLV-I infection of monocytes and microglial cells and could be enhanced by suboptimal amounts of lipopolysaccharide. Since both tumor necrosis factor alpha and interleukin 6 have been implicated in inflammatory demyelination and gliosis, our findings suggest that human microglial cells and monocytes infected with and activated by HTLV-I could play a role in the pathogenesis of HAM/TSP.

Brain↗

PubMed1992

Characterization and purification of a novel transcriptional repressor from HeLa cell nuclear extracts recognizing the negative regulatory element region of human immunodeficiency virus-1 long terminal repeat.

Cellular transcription factors play critical roles in regulating human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) gene transcription, although the precise mechanism(s) defining their roles are not well established. Primarily it has been suggested that sequence-specific interaction of trans-activating proteins with cis-acting DNA elements plays a crucial role in regulating the target genes. The negative regulatory element (NRE) of HIV-1 long terminal repeat (LTR) is one such defined region that has been reported to down-regulate LTR-directed HIV gene expression. Information regarding the role of this region in the regulation of HIV expression is lacking. Here we describe an attempt to further characterize the role of NRE cis-elements and define any sequence-specific interaction with cellular factors. Using gel mobility shift DNA-binding and Southwestern blot assays, we have mapped a distinct region of NRE (-290 to -260, a 30-base pair (bp) domain of NRE-A) sequences of HIV-1 LTR, which recognizes a specific DNA-binding protein from HeLa cell nuclear extracts. This factor is a 38-kDa polypeptide which can be affinity-purified to near homogeneity by this 30-bp specific oligonucleotide in affinity chromatography. The cellular factor from HeLa cell nuclear extract exhibits specific interaction only with the 30-bp NRE-A domain of HIV-1 LTR and acts as a strong transcriptional repressor/inhibitor molecule in the DNA-protein gel binding, as well as in vitro transcriptional studies with the nuclear extracts from cells with productive HIV-1 infection. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a factor recognizing a distinct segment within NRE that has been shown to exert an inhibitory effect on transcriptionally active DNA-protein "pre-initiation" complex formation, suggesting a possible role in HIV-1 gene regulation.

Base Sequence↗