Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “HIV Reverse Transcriptase”

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 1,657 records · Page 92Linked to original sources

Identification of efficiently cleaved substrates for HIV-1 protease using a phage display library and use in inhibitor development.

The recognition sequences for substrate cleavage by aspartic protease of HIV-1 are diverse and cleavage specificities are controlled by complex interactions between at least six amino acids around the cleavage site. We have identified 45 efficiently cleaved peptide substrates of HIV-1 protease (PR) using substrate phage display, an approach that can elucidate both context-dependent and context-independent preferences at individual subsites of a protease substrate. Many of the selected peptides were cleaved more efficiently and had lower K(m) values than physiologically relevant substrates of HIV-1 PR. Therefore, mutations occurring in the cleavage sites of the Gag and Gag-pol polyproteins of HIV-1 could significantly lower the K(m) values to better compete against drugs for protease binding while maintaining cleavage rates necessary for viral replication. The most efficiently cleaved peptide substrate derived from these phage, Ac-GSGIF*LETSL-NH(2), was cleaved 60 times more efficiently and had a K(m) approximately 260 times lower than a nine-amino-acid peptide based on the natural reverse transcriptase/integrase cleavage site when assayed at pH 5.6, 0.2 M NaCl. The peptide substrates selected served as frameworks for synthesis of tight binding reduced amide inhibitors of HIV-1 PR. The results show that the most efficiently cleaved substrates serve as the best templates for synthesis of the tightest binding inhibitors. Thus, defining changes in substrate preferences for drug-resistant proteases may aid in the development of more efficacious inhibitors.

Amides↗

Evolution of total and integrated HIV-1 DNA and change in DNA sequences in patients with sustained plasma virus suppression.

Blood samples from patients with plasma HIV-1 RNA <20 copies/ml for more than 2 years were studied. Significant decreases in total and integrated HIV-1 DNA were observed during the first 15 months of suppressive therapy before the concentrations became stable. Clonal analysis of HIV-1 pol demonstrated that the proportions of resistance mutations in DNA sequences after 2 years were lower than those in baseline DNA and RNA sequences. The changes in the clonal composition of HIV-1 env populations in three patients with evidence of changes in HIV-1 pol populations indicated a shift from predominantly R5-like viruses to predominantly X4-like viruses in two patients and the persistence of predominantly X4-like viruses in the third. Our analyses indicate the reemergence of ancestral sequences from long-lived cells or the residual production of wild-type virus from anatomic sites with limited access to antiretroviral drugs and the preferential infection of cells expressing CXCR4.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Design of some nucleic acid antimetabolites: expectations and reality.

3'-Azido-2'3'-dideoxythymidine (AZT), a thymidine analogue with potent antiretroviral activity against human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in vitro, has been shown to confer a clinical benefit in patients with advanced acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). Other 2',3'-dideoxynucleosides, e.g., 2',3'-dideoxy-cytidine and 2',3'-dideoxyadenosine, block the infectivity of HIV against helper/inducer T cells in vitro and protect the cell against the cytopathic effect of the virus. The majority of these antiretroviral agents were synthesized more than twenty years ago as analogues of physiologically important deoxynucleosides in the quest of a more effective cancer chemotherapy. None of the synthetic analogues manifested significant activity when screened against L1210 leukemia in BDF mice despite the fact that the phosphorylation reactions, crucial to the activation of the 2',3'-dideoxynucleosides, are catalyzed by kinases of appropriate target cells. However, the 2',3'-dideoxynucleoside triphosphates, relative to corresponding deoxynucleotides, have a reduced affinity for DNA polymerase alpha, an enzyme that has key DNA synthetic and repair functions in the life of a cell. In contrast, HIV reverse transcriptase, like host cellular DNA polymerase beta (a repair enzyme) and gamma (a mitochondrial enzyme), is much more susceptible to the inhibitory effects of the dideoxynucleotides. This would explain the activity of the fradulent nucleotides at low concentrations against pathogenic retroviruses vis à vis the low cytoxic activity observed with these agents as anti-leukemia drugs.

Animals↗

Quantitative molecular monitoring of HIV-1 RNA during antiretroviral therapy.

Plasma HIV-1 RNA testing was used to monitor 43 HIV-1 infected patients newly placed on antiretroviral therapy or whose therapy had been recently changed. A polymerase chain reaction kit was used to measure HIV-1 RNA in clinical samples or frozen plasma. The cutoff of this test was 200 RNA copies/ml. The first group (11 patients) was stable on long-term zidovudine monotherapy when switched to stavudine. The HIV-1 RNA of three patients who had a regular decline in CD4+ T cell count did not change despite this switch, with a mean follow-up of 630 days. The HIV-1 RNA copy numbers of eight patients whose CD4+ T cell counts were stable declined an average of 0.53 log10 between days 90 and 650. The second group (14 patients) was on long-term zidovudine monotherapy and had declining CD4+ T cell counts over the past 6 months. Lamivudine was added to this regimen on day 0. HIV-1 RNA copy number decreased rapidly within 30 d, reaching -0.86 log10 on day 90, and this effect was maintained thereafter, with a mean follow-up of 161 days. There was a concomitant mean gain of +33 CD4+ T cells on day 90. The third group (nine patients) had never received anti-retroviral therapy and was given zidovudine+didanosine. HIV-1 RNA copy number decreased in all cases but one, reaching -1.31 log10 on day 150. This decrease was transient in three cases. The last group (nine patients) had also not had previous anti-retroviral therapy and was given zidovudine + didanosine + lamivudine in combination. HIV-1 RNA copy numbers declined rapidly in all cases, to below the cutoff in eight cases within a mean period of 50.5 days. The CD4+ cell counts increased by 164 cells/microliter on day 14 and by 201 cells/microliter on day 180. The response to therapy of the total population of 43 patients varied according to cases. The relative changes in p24 antigen compared to HIV-1 RNA also differed between patients. Measurement of HIV-1 viremia appears to be a valuable tool in current practice for individualizing therapy.

Adult↗

Production of a highly cytopathic HIV-1 isolate from a human mucosal epithelial cell line cultured on microcarrier beads in serum-free medium.

The human colonic epithelial cell line HT-29 can be productively infected with various HIV-1 and HIV-2 isolates that are highly cytopathic for T lymphocytes. In each case, a chronically infected HT-29 cell line can be established, and progeny viruses retain their original properties including high cytopathogenicity for T cells. Inasmuch as AIDS vaccines should include viral isolates capable of infecting mucosal epithelial cells, it may be useful to produce these isolates in such cells at a large scale. We describe here a microcarrier-based culture system allowing the production of infectious viruses from HT-29 cells grown in a chemically defined serum-free medium (Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium/F12, HEPES 15 mM, pH 7.4, transferrin 5 micrograms/ml, selenium 10 ng/ml). The yield of HIV-1 from microcarrier cultures (275 ng of p24gag/ml) was greater than the yield from conventional culture flasks (122 ng of p24gag/ml). This virus, produced in serum-free medium, can be used either as a viral stock or as a source for HIV-1 proteins.

Adenocarcinoma↗

Comparison of the effect of FK506 and cyclosporin A on virus production in H9 cells chronically and newly infected by HIV-1.

The presence of FK506-binding protein-12 was demonstrated in virions of HIV-1, although its concentration was lower than that of cyclophilin A. The effect of two inhibitors of the peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerases FK506 and cyclosporin A (CsA) was studied in H9 cells that were chronically infected by HIV-1. Both drugs inhibited virus production in the infected cells in a concentration-dependent manner, by decreasing the number of the producing cells. FK506 did not have an effect on Gag processing, based on the p24 antigen content of virions produced in the presence of this drug. Furthermore, FK506 treatment of uninfected H9 cells did not diminish their susceptibility toward HIV-1 infection, whereas CsA treatment decreased the degree of HIV-1 infection with an IC(50) of 1-2 microg/ml. Also, pretreatment of the virus with CsA decreased its infectivity in HeLaCD4-LTR/beta-gal cells; in contrast, at concentrations up to 10 microg/ml, FK506 did not have an effect. Our findings on the antiviral activity of FK506 and CsA suggest that FK506 is effective only in chronically infected cells, by selectively inhibiting the growth of HIV-1 infected cells, whereas CsA has a specific effect on virus replication.

Anti-HIV Agents↗

Human immunodeficiency virus uses tRNA(Lys,3) as primer for reverse transcription in HeLa-CD4+ cells.

Significant amounts of different tRNA molecules are present in retroviral particles, but one specific tRNA species functions as primer in reverse transcription. It is generally believed that the HIV-1 virus uses the tRNA(Lys,3) molecule as primer. This is based on sequence complementarity between the 3' end of tRNA(Lys,3) and the primer-binding site (PBS) on HIV-1 genomic RNA. Recent biochemical analyses indicated that tRNA(LYs,3) is indeed incorporated into viral particles. Interestingly, tRNA(Lys,3) could not be detected in virions produced by HeLa-CD4+ cells [(1992) Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 185, 1105-1115]. In order to test whether alternative tRNA molecules can function as primer in HIV replication, we performed a series of experiments based on the observation that tRNA primer sequences are inherited by the viral progeny. We cultured HIV-1 for prolonged periods of time in HeLa-CD4+ cells, but did not detect sequence changes in the PBS region. Furthermore, we found PBS-mutants to be replication-incompetent, again suggesting that HIV-1 solely uses tRNA(Lys,3) as primer. Most importantly, we obtained revertants of one such PBS-mutant, which had restored a wild-type PBS sequence. This tRNA(Lys,3)-mediated repair demonstrates a general requirement for this primer in HIV-1 reverse transcription.

Base Sequence↗

Rev-dependency of expression of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 gag and env genes.

Structural gene expression of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) requires a viral regulatory protein, Rev transactivator. We investigated Rev-dependency of HIV-1 gene expression by various reporter systems. Expression of unspliced and single-spliced viral mRNAs was demonstrated to be differentially dependent on the Rev function. This difference of Rev-dependency was found not to be determined by cis-elements in gag, pol, and env coding sequences reported so far, and was lost when the reporter constructs containing minimum elements for Rev-responsiveness such as splice signals and rev responsive element were used for experiments. These findings indicated that the fundamental structure of HIV-1 mRNA was critical for the differential regulation of gene expression by Rev transactivator.

Animals↗

Selected human immunodeficiency virus replicates preferentially through the basolateral surface of differentiated human colon epithelial cells.

We have used HIV1-NDK-infected HT29 cells grown on permeable substratum to study the polarity of virus maturation in human intestinal cells. When cultured in glucose-containing medium, these cells are mostly undifferentiated. The removal of glucose from the medium allowed the emergence of a selected differentiated subpopulation which continued to produce viral particles in the culture supernatant. The polarity of viral production was evaluated by harvesting virus from the two sides of the monolayer. Seventy-five percent of released HIV was found on the basolateral side of the monolayer. Mature viral particles were observed by electron microscopy near the apical (luminal) and the basolateral (serosal) membrane. These data suggest that epithelial cells of the colon productively infected by a selected strain of HIV are able to produce the virus through both sides of the epithelium but mainly through the serosal side.

Cell Differentiation↗

Cell-to-cell spread of HIV-1 occurs within minutes and may not involve the participation of virus particles.

Although virus infections have been classically studied with "cell-free" virion preparations, many animal viruses are able to spread both in vitro and in vivo by inducing cell-cell fusion. An efficient system to monitor the cell-to-cell spread of HIV-1 has been developed employing chronically infected H9 donor cells. Under appropriate conditions of cocultivation with uninfected cells, the synthesis of unintegrated viral DNA, monitored by Southern blot hybridization, occurred between 2 and 4 hr following infection; viral proteins were detected 8 to 12 hr following cocultivation and progeny virions were released into the medium by 16 hr. The use of metabolic inhibitors or specific envelope/receptor antibodies revealed that the cell-to-cell spread of HIV required: (1) gp120-CD4 interaction and (2) reverse transcription. Light and electron microscopy, fluorescent dye redistribution, and soluble CD4 competition experiments all demonstrated that the HIV-induced cell-cell fusion began within 10 to 30 min of cocultivation. Surprisingly, the electron microscopic analyses also suggested that budding or mature virus particles did not participate in this process. Thus the virus-induced cell-cell fusion observed is very likely the result of gp120/gp41 proteins, on the surface of infected cells, interacting with CD4 molecules on uninfected cells. These findings are of immediate importance in understanding the mechanism(s) of HIV-1 transmission in vivo and for the design of effective vaccines and antiviral agents.

Blotting, Western↗

Mechanism of inhibition of HIV-1 infection in vitro by purified extract of Prunella vulgaris.

Crude extracts of four Chinese herbs, Arctium lappa, Astragalus membranaceus, Andrographis paniculata, and Prunella vulgaris, were assessed in several tissue culture lines for anti-HIV activity and for cytotoxicity. One extract, obtained from P. vulgaris, was able to significantly inhibit HIV-1 replication with relatively low cytotoxicity. The active factor was purified using sequential precipitations with ethanol and n-butanol, followed by reverse-phase and gel permeation high-performance liquid chromatographic separations. The active component was anionic with a molecular weight of approximately 10 kDa. The purified extract inhibited HIV-1 replication in the lymphoid cell line MT-4, in the monocytoid cell line U937, and in peripheral blood mononuclear cells at effective concentrations of 6, 30, and 12.5 micrograms/ml, respectively. Pretreatment of uninfected cells with the extract prior to viral exposure did not prevent HIV-1 infection. By contrast, preincubation of HIV-1 with the purified extract dramatically decreased infectiousness. The purified extract was also able to block cell-to-cell transmission of HIV-1, prevented syncytium formation, and interfered with the ability of both HIV-1 and purified gp120 to bind to CD4. PCR analysis confirmed the absence of HIV-1 proviral DNA in cells exposed to virus in the presence of the extract. These results suggest that the purified extract antagonizes HIV-1 infection of susceptible cells by preventing viral attachment to the CD4 receptor.

Astragalus propinquus↗

Distinctive pattern of infection and replication of HIV1 strains in blood-derived macrophages.

The macrophage-tropic virus HIV1-PAR, isolated from cerebrospinal fluid of HIV1-seropositive man, induced cytopathic effect accompanied by different magnitude of the virus production in blood-derived macrophages (BDM) obtained from different donors. HIV1-PAR-specific RNA was detected by in situ hybridization in 15 and 66% of BDM producing low and high levels of virus, respectively. In contrast with HIV1-PAR, infection of BDM with two laboratory strains adapted to T-cell lines, HIV1-LAV prototype and HIV1-NDK, a Zairian virus that is highly cytopathic for T-lymphocytes, resulted in a low production of HIV1 p24gag in culture fluid. Expression of HIV1-LAV and HIV1-NDK RNA was detected by in situ hybridization in a maximum of 1% of macrophages. Only HIV1-NDK, and not HIV1-LAV, induced ultrastructural alterations in BDM. In contrast with a striking difference in the production of macrophage-tropic and T-lymphotropic viruses, no significant differences were found in the proportion of macrophages containing retrotranscribed genomes of HIV1-. HIV1 DNA was detected by in situ hybridization in 93, 100, and 80% of macrophages infected with HIV1-PAR, HIV1-LAV, and HIV1-NDK, respectively. A higher level of HIV1 DNA was detected by polymerase chain reaction in the BDM infected with HIV1-PAR than in that infected with HIV1-LAV and HIV1-NDK. The results indicate that both macrophage-tropic as well as T-lymphotropic viruses can enter and retrotranscribe their genomes in a vast majority of macrophages.

DNA, Viral↗

Effect of resistance on combination chemotherapy for human immunodeficiency virus infection.

The effect of 3 drug combinations (AZT/FLT, AZT/ddI and FLT/ddI) upon the replication of AZT-sensitive and -resistant human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) was studied. The 3 combinations synergistically inhibited drug sensitive virus. However, AZT resistant virus showed an altered response to the combinations containing AZT: synergy was replaced by addition or antagonism. Thus, the susceptibility to a drug may affect the synergistic effect of combinations containing that drug. Other drug combinations may not be affected, since the AZT resistant virus retained a synergistic response to the combination of FLT/ddI. The synergistic effect could be regained upon reversion of resistance; a viral isolate taken after cessation of therapy, which had reverted to sensitivity to AZT, regained the synergistic response to drug combinations containing AZT. These results have implications for the use of combination chemotherapy to treat infection with HIV. Drug combinations will be most useful if the virus is sensitive to all components in the combination. It might be preferable to avoid the inclusion in combinations of drugs to which there is resistance, since we saw an antagonistic effect for combinations containing AZT in AZT resistant virus. Other combinations not containing the drug to which resistance has arisen may maintain their synergistic effect and remain good choices. Thus, a strategy of monitoring drug sensitivity and altering the combination therapy accordingly would appear to offer promise for the treatment of HIV infection.

Antiviral Agents↗

Enhancement of HIV-1 infection by the capsular polysaccharide of Cryptococcus neoformans.

Patients with AIDS who become infected with Cryptococcus neoformans have a poor prognosis. We speculated that the presence of cryptococcal capsular polysaccharide may enhance HIV-1 infection. In an in-vitro study, the presence of cryptococcal polysaccharide significantly increased (p less than 0.05) production of p24 antigen after infection of H9 cells with HIV-1-infected H9 cells. We also found similar results when lymphocytes from an HIV-1-infected patient were co-cultured with mononuclear cells from an uninfected individual. Our findings suggest a new pathogenic role for the capsular polysaccharide--namely, the capacity to enhance HIV-1 infectivity.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗