Neurotoxicity in mice due to cysteine-rich parts of visna virus and HIV-1 Tat proteins |
| |
Authors: | I Gourdou K Mabrouk G Harkiss P Marchot N Watt F Hery R Vigne |
| |
Institution: | Laboratoire de Virologie, Faculté de Médecine Nord, Marseille. |
| |
Abstract: | The trans-activating visna virus and HIV-1 Tat proteins share, at their amino-acid sequence level, a significant 60% analogy on 17 consecutive residues. These homologous sequences are also found in a part of the short neurotoxin sequence from snake venom. Synthetic peptides representative of the two analogous viral sequences are, after intracerebroventricular injection at doses of 200 micrograms per 20 g mouse, responsible for the death of the injected animal in few hours. The HIV-1 recombinant Tat protein has the same effect. Such observation suggests a direct role of the Tat lentiviral protein in the origin of the neurologic effects associated with visna and HIV-1 infections. |
| |
Keywords: | |
|
|