Reciprocal modulation of transcriptional activities between HIV-1 Tat and MHC class II transactivator CIITA

HIV-1 is the etiologic agent of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). Functional loss of antigen-presenting cells (APC) in HIV-1 infection is considered to be involved in AIDS pathogenesis. We found that actions of the viral transactivator Tat and the transactivator of MHC class II genes, CIITA, are mutually inhibitory. While Tat inhibited expression of MHC class II genes in APC, overexpression of CIITA inhibited Tat and subsequently HIV-1 replication. This action of Tat appears to be mediated by sequestering the common cofactor, cyclin T1, but not p300 and CBP. These reciprocal actions between Tat and CIITA not only explains the functional impairment of APC in HIV-1 infection but also rationalizes the suppression of HIV-1 virus load by induction of CIITA such as IFN-gamma.     

一个新的HIV-1治疗靶--Tat转录激活蛋白

Tat是HIV-1病毒进行转录和复制的一个十分重要的蛋白质,同时,Tat也与HIV-1感染引起的严重病理学程度密切相关.Tat的生物学性质和功能决定了其是一个理想的开发抗AIDS疫苗和药物的靶蛋白.基于Tat自身及其作用的TARRNA,可以设计Tat疫苗、细胞外结合Tat的拮抗剂、抗Tat的反义核酸、抗TAR的反义核酸、抗Tat的细胞内抗体和细胞内Tat协同因子的抑制剂等.传统的抗病毒药物及蛋白酶抑制剂与新的细胞内和细胞外Tat拮抗剂联合使用,多靶点地抑制HIV-1的复制将是一个有效的抗AIDS的治疗方案.这一治疗方案能够防止HIV病毒耐药株的产生,减少单一作用靶点药物的用药剂量和降低相应的毒性,最终治愈AIDS相关的病理学变化.     

一个新的HIV-1治疗靶——Tat转录激活蛋白(英)

Tat是HIV-1病毒进行转录和复制的一个十分重要的蛋白质,同时,Tat也与HIV-1感染引起的严重病理学程度密切相关.Tat 的生物学性质和功能决定了其是一个理想的开发抗AIDS疫苗和药物的靶蛋白.基于Tat自身及其作用的TAR RNA,可以设计Tat疫苗、细胞外结合Tat的拮抗剂、抗Tat的反义核酸、抗TAR的反义核酸、抗Tat的细胞内抗体和细胞内Tat协同因子的抑制剂等.传统的抗病毒药物及蛋白酶抑制剂与新的细胞内和细胞外Tat拮抗剂联合使用,多靶点地抑制HIV-1的复制将是一个有效的抗AIDS的治疗方案.这一治疗方案能够防止HIV病毒耐药株的产生,减少单一作用靶点药物的用药剂量和降低相应的毒性,最终治愈AIDS相关的病理学变化.     

Feasibility and long-term results of focused radioguided parathyroidectomy using a &quot;low&quot; 37 MBq (1 mCi) <Superscript>99m</Superscript>Tc-sestamibi protocol

Aim of the present study was to investigate the feasibility and long-term results of focused radioguided parathyroidectomy using a "low" 37 MBq (1 mCi) ^99mTc-sestamibi dose protocol compared to conventional "high 740 MBq (20 mCi) ^99mTc-sestamibi dose protocol" in patients with primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT). The data of focused radioguided surgery obtained in a group of 320 consecutive PHPT patients with high probability of the presence of a solitary parathyroid adenoma (PA) were studied. All patients underwent preoperative imaging work-up of double-tracer ^99mTc-pertechnetate/^99mTc-sestamibi subtraction parathyroid scintigraphy (Sestamibi scintigraphy) and high resolution neck ultrasound (US). In 301/320 patients (96.6%) focused minimally invasive radioguided surgery was successfully performed by administering a "low" 37 MBq (1 mCi) ^99mTc-sestamibi dose in the operating room 10 minutes before operation. No major intraoperative complications were recorded. Focused radioguided surgery required a mean time of 32 min and a mean hospital stay of 1.2 days. Local anesthesia was applied in 75 patients, 66 of whom (88%) were patients older than 65 years with comorbidities contraindicating general anesthesia. No case of persistent or recurrent PHPT was observed during post-surgical follow-up (range = 18–70 months; mean +/- SD = 15.3 +/- 9.1 months). Radiation exposure dose to the operating surgeon was 1.2 μSi/hour with the "low 37 MBq (1 mCi) ^99mTc-sestamibi dose", and less than 1.0 μSi/hour for the other operating-room personnel. Focused low dose radioguided parathyroidectomy is a safe and effective means to localize parathyroid adenomas in patients affected by solitary PA thus reducing by 20 fold the radiation exposure dose to the patients and operating room personnel.     

A Genome-Wide Screen for Machinery Involved in Downregulation of MHC Class I by HIV-1 Nef

The HIV-1-encoded protein, Nef, plays a key role in the development of AIDS. One of Nef’s functions is to keep MHC class I off the surface of infected cells, a process that requires the host proteins clathrin and AP-1. To identify other proteins involved in this pathway, we carried out a genome-wide siRNA library screen on HeLa cells co-expressing HLA-A2 and an inducible form of Nef. Out of 21,121 siRNA pools, 100 were selected for further analysis, based on their ability to either inhibit or enhance downregulation of MHC-I by Nef. When cells were treated with the same siRNA pools as those used in the screen, 79% produced a similar phenotype. However, when the cells were treated with different siRNA reagents targeting the same genes, only 16% produced a similar phenotype. This indicates that most of the hits found in the original screen are likely to have been off-target, an important concern that is often not taken into account in siRNA screening studies. Nevertheless, we identified novel host factors involved in Nef-induced downregulation of MHC-I, including four genes, MIIP, CAMSAP3, SLC6A3, and KCTD19, where multiple reagents produced a strong inhibitory effect on Nef activity. Other hits slightly below our very high stringency cutoff point may also deserve further study. Thus, our dataset is a valuable resource for scientists investigating the pathogenesis of HIV.