Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 1987 Oct;84(19):6845-9.
doi: 10.1073/pnas.84.19.6845.

Human immunodeficiency virus long terminal repeat responds to T-cell activation signals

Affiliations

Human immunodeficiency virus long terminal repeat responds to T-cell activation signals

S E Tong-Starksen et al. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1987 Oct.

Abstract

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the causative agent of AIDS, infects and kills lymphoid cells bearing the CD4 antigen. In an infected cell, a number of cellular as well as HIV-encoded gene products determine the levels of viral gene expression and HIV replication. Efficient HIV-replication occurs in activated T cells. Utilizing transient expression assays, we show that gene expression directed by the HIV long terminal repeat (LTR) increases in response to T-cell activation signals. The effects of T-cell activation and of the HIV-encoded trans-activator (TAT) are multiplicative. Analysis of mutations and deletions in the HIV LTR reveals that the region responding to T-cell activation signals is located at positions -105 to -80. These sequences are composed of two direct repeats, which are homologous to the core transcriptional enhancer elements in the simian virus 40 genome. Our studies reveal that these elements function as the HIV enhancer. By acting directly on the HIV LTR, T-cell activation may play an important role in HIV gene expression and in the activation of latent HIV.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Int J Cancer. 1977 May 15;19(5):621-6 - PubMed
    1. Nature. 1987 Apr 16-22;326(6114):711-3 - PubMed
    1. Science. 1983 May 20;220(4599):868-71 - PubMed
    1. Nature. 1983 Dec 8-14;306(5943):557-61 - PubMed
    1. J Immunol Methods. 1983 Dec 16;65(1-2):55-63 - PubMed

Publication types