Identification of two distinct elements in the long terminal repeat of HTLV-I responsible for maximum gene expression

Human T-cell leukemia virus type I has a unique sequence, pX, between env and the 3' long terminal repeat (LTR). One of its products, p40, activates gene expression directed by the LTR in a trans-acting manner. We have analysed the mechanism of this trans-activation mediated by p40 in human T cells co-transfected with a plasmid expressing p40 using the transient CAT gene expression. We identified two distinct elements in the LTR which are involved in maximum gene expression. The first was present in a 230-bp fragment upstream from TATA box in the U3 region and behaved as a classical enhancer. This region was also shown to be responsible for trans-activation by p40. This element alone together with functional p40 could direct the gene expression at only approximately 10% of the level achieved by the complete LTR and p40. The second element was present within a 300-bp fragment downstream from the RNA start site and profoundly enhanced the gene expression in a way independent from trans-activation mechanism. This enhancement was observed only when the element was located immediately downstream from the RNA start site without orientation preference. These two elements participate independently in the enhancement of gene expression.     

Identification of a negative element in the human vimentin promoter: modulation by the human T-cell leukemia virus type I Tax protein.

The vimentin gene is a member of the intermediate filament multigene family and encodes a protein expressed, in vivo, in all mesenchymal derivatives and, in vitro, in cell types of various origin. We have previously demonstrated that the expression of this growth-regulated gene could be trans activated by the 40-kDa Tax protein of HTLV-I (human T-cell leukemia virus type I) and that responsiveness to this viral protein was mediated by the presence of an NF-kappa B binding site located between -241 and -210 bp upstream of the mRNA cap site (A. Lilienbaum, M. Duc Dodon, C. Alexandre, L. Gazzolo, and D. Paulin, J. Virol. 64:256-263, 1990). These previous assays, performed with deletion mutants of the vimentin promoter linked to the chloramphenicol acetyltransferase gene, also revealed the presence of an upstream negative region between -529 and -241 bp. Interestingly, the inhibitory activity exerted by this negative region was overcome after cotransfection of a Tax-expressing plasmid. In this study, we further characterize the vimentin negative element and define the effect of the Tax protein on the inhibitory activity of this element. We first demonstrate that a 187-bp domain (-424 to -237 bp) behaves as a negative region when placed upstream either of the NF-kappa B binding site of vimentin or of a heterologous enhancer such as that present in the desmin gene promoter. The negative effect can be further assigned to a 32-bp element which is indeed shown to repress the basal or induced activity of the NF-kappa B binding site.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Mutational analysis of the HTLV-I trans-activator, Tax

The gene coding for the trans-activating factor (Tax) of the human T-cell leukemia virus, type I (HTLV-I) was mutagenized in vitro using oligonucleotide-directed mutagenesis and recombinant DNA techniques. All except one of the mutagenized tax constructs failed to trans-activate the HTLV-I LTR in a eukaryotic test system. Moreover, negative Tax mutant Arg-39----Gly was found to be trans-dominant. This observation suggests that Tax contains distinct functional domains mediating different interactions of the protein in the process of trans-activation.