Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1992. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
HUMAN T-LYMPHOTROPIC VIRUS TYPE I (HTLV-I) MRNA IS EXPRESSED AND ALTERNATIVELY SPLICED IN ADULT T-CELL LEUKEMIA/LYMPHOMA (ATL) AND IN HEALTHY CARRIERS (MEETING ABSTRACT)
Fifteenth Symposium of the International Association for Comparative Research on Leukemia and Related Diseases. October 6-11, 1991, Padova/Venice, Italy, p. 7, 1991.. Unique Identifier : AIDSLINE ICDB/92682365 Berneman ZN; Gartenhaus RB; Reitz MS; Gallo RC; Klotman ME; Lab. of Tumor Cell Biology, NCI, Bethesda, MD 20892
Abstract:
Though HTLV-I is the etiological agent of ATL, the role of viral gene expression in the generation, maintenance and progression of the leukemic state in vivo is unclear, in light of the inability of most previous studies to routinely find HTLV-I RNA in infected individuals. We reexamined the lack of viral expression, by using the sensitive reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction technique. cDNA was synthesized from extracted RNA, and PCR amplification was performed using primers derived from the 5' LTR and the pX region. The amplified fragments were cloned and sequenced. In addition to the expected doubly spliced pX message, there is an expression of three alternatively spliced mRNAs. Alternative splicing of HTLV-I pX mRNA occurs in two ways: alternative splice acceptor sites and the presence or absence of a cassette exon. Seven out of ten ATL samples, and three out of three carrier samples were positive for the classical pX message and/or one or more of the other three alternatively spliced mRNAs. One of these, pX-p21rex mRNA is a likely monocistronic message for p21rex, a molecule of unknown function, and cannot code for Tax or Rex, the pX regulatory gene products. pX-p21rex is the most prevalent message found in the ATL as well as in the carrier samples, suggesting that p21rex may play a significant role in the biology of HTLV-I. Since alternative splicing of HTLV-I pX mRNA can be found in primary cells, it is likely to have a functional significance in vivo. The finding of HTLV-I message in primary samples also makes it possible to envisage a role for viral gene expression, not only in initiating T-cell proliferation early in infection, but also in the maintenance and progression of ATL.
Keywords: Carrier State Exons Gene Amplification *Gene Expression Gene Products, rex/GENETICS Gene Products, tat/GENETICS Genes, pX/*GENETICS Genes, Viral/GENETICS Human HTLV-I/*GENETICS Leukemia, T-Cell/*GENETICS Lymphoma, T-Cell/*GENETICS Polymerase Chain Reaction RNA Splicing/*GENETICS RNA-Directed DNA Polymerase RNA, Messenger/*GENETICS Signal Transduction ABSTRACT 920930
M9290905
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Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1992. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
