Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “Genes, pX”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 217 records · Page 12Linked to original sources

The octamer motif present in the Rex-1 promoter binds Oct-1 and Oct-3 expressed by EC cells and ES cells.

Rex-1 is a zinc finger-containing gene that is expressed in embryonal carcinoma (EC) cells and embryonic stem (ES) cells. Upon differentiation with retinoic acid (RA), transcription of the Rex-1 gene decreases rapidly. Analysis of the 5'-flanking region of the Rex-1 gene identified a consensus motif for the octamer family of transcription factors that stimulates expression from the Rex-1 promoter. In this report, we utilized gel mobility shift analysis to examine the binding of transcription factors to the Rex-1 octamer motif. F9 EC cells, D3 ES cells, and human NT2/D1 EC cells each from at least two prominent DNA/protein complexes with the octamer motif. Supershift analysis identifies Oct-1 and Oct-3 in these complexes. When F9 EC cells are induced to differentiate by treatment with RA for 48 h, there is a complete loss of the DNA/protein complex containing Oct-3. In contrast, the other DNA/protein complexes, including the DNA/protein complex containing Oct-1, can still be detected. These results provide support for a role of Oct-3 in the transcription of the Rex-1 gene.

Animals↗

Inhibition of human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 replication by antisense env oligodeoxynucleotide.

Human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1) infection is associated with adult T-cell leukemia and HTLV-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis. Inhibition of HTLV-1 transmission is important to prevent the above HTLV-1-associated diseases. We used the antisense oligodeoxynucleotides (oligos) complementary to the first splice junction, rex responsive site, gag, env, tax, rex, and p21 and evaluated the effects on the syncytium formation between HTLV-1 producing human T-cell line, C9/PL cells, and HTLV-1-uninfected human glioma cell line, U251-MG cells. The syncytium formation was significantly inhibited the virion production assayed by antisense oligos to env, tax, gag, p21, and rex, with antisense oligo to env being the most inhibitory. Antisense oligos to env and tax also inhibited reverse transcriptase activity. Antisense oligo to env may have a potential as a preventive measure of HTLV-1 replication and transmission in vivo.

Base Sequence↗

Human T-cell lymphotrophic virus type-I tax gene induces secretion of human macrophage inflammatory protein-1alpha.

Human T-cell lymphotropic virus I (HTLV-I) encodes for a 40-kDa protein, Tax, which is important for the immortalization of T cells. Tax has been shown to transactivate several cellular genes. In this study, we show that MIP-1alpha is selectively expressed and secreted in the tax transfected Jurkat cell line upon mitogen stimulation. Expression of MIP-1alpha-R mRNA in these cells suggests an autocrine role for this chemokine in HTLV-I infected T-cells. Induced MIP-1alpha expression and secretion in PMA/PHA stimulated tax transfected cells correlate with the noninduction of MNP-1 transcription factor, which is intimately involved in downmodulating the MIP-1alpha gene.

Autocrine Communication↗

Autocrine role of macrophage inflammatory protein-1 beta in human T-cell lymphotropic virus type-I tax-transfected Jurkat T-cells.

The interaction of human T-cell lymphotropic virus I (HTLV-I) tax gene with host cell factors plays an important role in the maintenance of the transformed state. There have been numerous reports that have demonstrated the role of tax in transactivating several cytokines. In this study, we show that upon mitogen stimulation, macrophage inflammatory protein-1 beta (MIP-1beta) is expressed and secreted in tax-transfected Jurkat cells. Furthermore, expression of CC-chemokine receptor-5 (CCR5) mRNA in these cells suggests an autocrine role for MIP-1beta in HTLV-I-infected T-cells. These results, coupled with our earlier observations, demonstrate the influence that extracellular Tax protein might have on modulating host chemokines for proliferation and transformation of uninfected cells.

Autocrine Communication↗

Identification of a TXREB pseudogene (TXREBP) located between the genes for p55 (MPP1) and G6PD on Xq28.

A fibroblast cDNA library was screened by hybridization to a yeast artificial chromosome containing genomic sequences from human Xq28. The majority of positive cDNA clones were found to correspond to the cDNA coding for TXREB, an HTLV-1 enhancer-binding protein. Sequence analysis of the Xq28 genomic DNA revealed a number of deleterious changes compared to the previously reported cDNA. In addition, both the genomic DNA and cDNA isolates were found to be lacking a 599-bp sequence, bracketed by GT and AG, in the 5' untranslated region. These results suggest that the Xq28-linked gene is a processed pseudogene for TXREB and that the previously reported cDNA was only partially processed. Southern blot analysis on a hybrid mapping panel confirmed the presence of at least one autosomal gene for TXREB, and Northern blot hybridization with the 599-bp putative intron probe confirmed that the sequence is not part of the mature mRNA. Further analysis showed that the gene is expressed in a variety of human tissues and that the pseudogene is located between the genes for the proteins p55 and G6PD.

Base Sequence↗

Sequence and phylogenetic analyses of a new STLV-I from a naturally infected tantalus monkey from Central Africa.

Simian T-cell leukemia virus (STLV-I) is an oncovirus highly related to human T-cell leukemia virus type I (HTLV-I). To further examine the extent of variability, dissemination patterns, phylogeny, and evolution of these viruses, we analyzed a new STLV-I variant from a naturally infected Cercopithecus aethiops var. tantalus from the Central African Republic. Sequence analyses of its LTR, gag, pol, env, and pX (OrfII) genes indicated that this isolate, STLV-I (Tan 90), is 6% divergent from the prototype HTLV-I (ATK) and is the most divergent African STLV-I characterized to date. Our phylogenetic data indicate that southeast Asian and African STLV-I and HTLV-I strains segregated from each other thousands of years ago and that Japanese HTLV-I strains represent a relatively recent introduction of African or New World isolates. The data also indicate that interspecies transmission occurred several times on different continents over prolonged periods of time.

Africa, Central↗

A transgenic model of transactivation by the Tax protein of HTLV-I.

The human T-lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I) Tax protein is a transcriptional regulatory protein that has been suggested to play a causal role in the development of several HTLV-I-associated diseases. Tax regulates expression of its own LTR and of certain cellular promoters perhaps by usurping the function of the host transcriptional machinery. We have established a transgenic mouse model system to define the spectrum of tissues in vivo that are capable of supporting Tax-mediated transcriptional transactivation. Transgenic mice carrying the HTLV-I LTR driving expression of the Escherichia coli beta-galactosidase (beta gal) gene were generated, and this LTR-beta gal gene was transcriptionally inactive in all tissues. When LTR-beta gal mice were mated to transgenic mice carrying the same LTR driving expression of the HTLV-I tax gene, mice that carried both transgenes showed restricted expression of the beta gal reporter gene in several tissues including muscle, bone, salivary glands, skin, and nerve. In addition, a dramatic increase in the number of beta gal-expressing cells was seen in response to wounding. These observations provide direct evidence for viral transactivation in vivo, delimit the tissues capable of supporting that transactivation, and provide a model system to study the mechanism of gene regulation by Tax.

Animals↗

Mice transgenic for HTLV-I LTR-tax exhibit tax expression in bone, skeletal alterations, and high bone turnover.

HTLV-I infection can result in adult T cell leukemia with accompanying hypercalcemia and increased bone resorption. A viral etiology has also been invoked for Paget's disease, a disease of high bone turnover. Delineation of pathogenetic mechanisms of viral-associated bone diseases has been impeded by the complexity of viral and host factors. In order to consider the relationship of HTLV-I infection to skeletal changes we have evaluated the role of a single viral gene in mice transgenic for HTLV-I tax under the control of the viral promoter. Tax mice exhibited severe skeletal abnormalities characterized by high bone turnover, increases in osteoblast and osteoclast numbers and activity, and myelofibrosis. These changes were apparent as early as two months of age. Tax mRNA and protein were highly expressed in bone but not in bone marrow nor in any other tissues except, as previously reported, salivary gland and neurofibromas when they did develop. Within bone, tax protein was detected in only two cell types, mature osteoclasts and spindle-shaped cells within the endosteal myelofibrosis. These observations suggest that local expression of the tax gene, which encodes a viral regulatory protein known to influence host gene expression, can induce within the bone environment marked changes in bone cell activity, resulting in profound skeletal alterations.

Animals↗

X-I and X-II open reading frames of HTLV-I are not required for virus replication or for immortalization of primary T-cells in vitro.

In contrast to other retroviruses of the oncovirinae subgroup, the primate and bovine leukemia viruses (HTLV, STLV, and BLV) encode genes in the X-region of the genome, between the env gene and the 3' long terminal repeat. In HTLV-I, two overlapping open reading frames (ORFs) in the distal half of the X-region encode tax and rex genes, while two ORFs (X-I and X-II) in the proximal half of this region potentially encode proteins designated p12(XI) (or rof) and p30(XII) (or tof). The biological functions and mechanisms of tax and rex have been studied extensively whereas the roles of the other ORFs have not yet been established. To identify possible functions for ORFs X-I and X-II, an infectious molecular clone of HTLV-I and a mutant provirus lacking these ORFs were compared with respect to virus replication, gene expression, and ability to immortalize primary T-cells. When transiently transfected into 293 cells, both intact and deleted proviruses directed the synthesis of virus mRNAs and proteins that were quantitatively and qualitatively identical. These viruses were also indistinguishable in their abilities to infect and replicate in DBS-FRhL cells, which are permissive for HTLV-I propagation. Immortalized T-cell lines were established after cell-free or coculture methods for infection of activated, human peripheral blood or cord blood lymphocytes with each of the cloned viruses. The growth kinetics, cytokine dependence, and cell surface markers of the infected T-cell cultures were similar for each provirus clone. Thus, ORFs X-I and X-II are not essential for virus infectivity, replication, gene expression, or T-cell immortalization in vitro.

Animals↗

Functional conservation of HTLV-1 rex balances the immune pressure for sequence variation in the rex gene.

Naturally occurring mutations in Human T-cell Leukemia Virus Type 1 (HTLV-1) Tax protein lead to loss of recognition by cytotoxic T-lymphocytes. Most of these mutations also abolish or severely impair the transactivation function of Tax. Ninety percent of the rex gene, which encodes the viral regulator of mRNA splicing (Rex), overlaps with the tax gene. In this paper, we report that four previously described point mutations in tax that abolished CTL recognition and activity did not alter either the dimerisation function or the ability to export viral mRNA of the corresponding Rex proteins. Rex proteins containing two other amino acid changes were likewise functional. However, five Rex deletion mutants, predominantly but not exclusively found in HAM/TSP patients, had all lost these functions. We conclude that, although the Tax protein is subject to strong CTL-mediated selection, there are stronger functional constraints on amino acid variation in Rex. This may limit the variation in the tax/rex nucleotide sequence which results in immune evasion.

Cells, Cultured↗

The human T-cell leukemia virus type I (HTLV-I) X region encoded protein p13(II) interacts with cellular proteins.

Interactions between the Human T-cell leukemia virus type I (HTLV-I) gene product p13(II) and cellular proteins were investigated using the yeast two-hybrid system. Variant forms of p13(II) were derived from two HTLV-I molecular clones, K30p and K34p, that differ in both virus production and in vivo and in vitro infectivity. Two nucleotide differences between the p13 from K30p (p13K30) and K34p (p13K34) result in a Trp-Arg substitution at amino acid 17 and the truncation of the 25 carboxyl-terminal residues of p13K34. A cDNA library from an HTLV-I-infected rabbit T-cell line was screened with p13K30 and p13K34 as bait. Products of two cDNA clones, C44 and C254, interacted with p13K34 but not with p13K30. Interactions were further confirmed using the GST-fusion protein coprecipitation assay. Sequence analysis of C44 and C254 cDNA clones revealed similarities to members of the nucleoside monophosphate kinase superfamily and actin-binding protein 280, respectively. Further analysis of the function of these two proteins and the consequence of their interaction with p13 may help elucidate a role for p13 in virus production, infectivity, or the pathogenesis of HTLV-I.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Baboon T cell lymphomas expressing the B cell-associated surface proteins CD40 and Bgp95.

Papio hamadryas baboons in the Sukhumi colony develop enzootic outbreaks of malignant lymphomas with an incidence of about 1.5% per year among adults of the high-risk stock. We investigated the surface phenotypes of cells from normal and lymphomatous animals using antibodies against human lymphocyte antigens. We found that more than 80% of the lymphomas that developed during the last 3 years were characterized histologically to be of the peripheral T cell type. Generally, the lymphomatous cells also expressed high levels of MHC class II DR protein, CD18 (LFA-1 beta chain), and CD45RO. Surprisingly, these cells also expressed on their surface two proteins previously characterized as being relatively B cell-restricted: CD40 and Bgp95. These proteins were never found on the peripheral blood T cells from normal animals. The expression of these two gene products was confirmed by RNA blotting and immunoprecipitation. In most cases, the two B cell-associated proteins were expressed on the predominant T cell subsets; we found both B cell proteins on CD4+, CD8+ as well as on the CD4/8 double-positive cells when these subsets were expressed at high levels. About 90% of these animals are seropositive for Herpesvirus papio and human T cell leukemia virus-1 (HTLV-1) before developing outright lymphomas. In all of the lymphoma samples, HTLV-1 tax DNA sequences were detected by PCR amplification. Whether or not HTLV-1 or the Herpesvirus papio gene products influence the surface expression of CD40 and Bgp95 remains to be determined.

Animals↗

Robustness of maximum likelihood tree estimation against different patterns of base substitutions.

In the maximum likelihood (ML) method for estimating a molecular phylogenetic tree, the pattern of nucleotide substitutions for computing likelihood values is assumed to be simpler than that of the actual evolutionary process, simply because the process, considered to be quite devious, is unknown. The problem, however, is that there has been no guarantee to endorse the simplification. To study this problem, we first evaluated the robustness of the ML method in the estimation of molecular trees against different nucleotide substitution patterns, including Jukes and Cantor's, the simplest ever proposed. Namely, we conducted computer simulations in which we could set up various evolutionary models of a hypothetical gene, and define a true tree to which an estimated tree by the ML method was to be compared. The results show that topology estimation by the ML method is considerably robust against different ratios of transitions to transversions and different GC contents, but branch length estimation is not so. The ML tree estimation based on Jukes and Cantor's model is also revealed to be resistant to GC content, but rather sensitive to the ratio of transitions to transversions. We then applied the ML method with different substitution patterns to nucleotide sequence data on tax gene from T-cell leukemia viruses whose evolutionary process must have been more complicated than that of the hypothetical gene. The results are in accordance with those from the simulation study, showing that Jukes and Cantor's model is as useful as a more complicated one for making inferences about molecular phylogeny of the viruses.

Base Composition↗

Molecular evolution of human T-cell leukemia virus.

Phylogenetic trees for the human T-cell leukemia virus type I (HTLV-I) and its related viruses were constructed by use of nucleotide sequences of the long terminal repeat (LTR) and the tax gene. The trees showed that the viruses diverged from a common ancestral virus and that they are classified into two groups whose hosts are either primates or bovines. However, the topology of the trees for the viruses differed from that for the hosts. This suggests that HTLV-I and HTLV-I-related viruses evolved independently of host-species divergence and that interspecies transmission between human and monkeys occurred in the past. The nucleotide diversity of the tax genes of HTLV-I was estimated to be 0.025. This value is more than 10 times larger than that of human globin genes, but it is about 20 times smaller than that of hemagglutinin genes of influenza A viruses. Thus, the genetic variability of the HTLV-I genes seems to be higher than that of nuclear genes but much lower than the genes of typical RNA viruses. Furthermore, we examined functional constraints on the overlapping region of the rex and tax genes. The results obtained imply that for the overlapping region, the tax gene has much stronger constraints against amino acid changes than the rex gene.

Animals↗