Induction of Apoptosis in Uninfected Lymphocytes by HIV-1 Tat Protein

• Published in: Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Vol. 268; no. 5209; pp. 429 - 431
• Main Authors: Li, Chiang J., Friedman, David J., Wang, Chuanlin, Metelev, Valeri, Pardee, Arthur B.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Society for the Advancement of Science 21.04.1995; American Association for the Advancement of Science; The American Association for the Advancement of Science
• Subjects: Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS); AIDS; AIDS (Disease); AIDS research; AIDS/HIV; Apoptosis; B lymphocytes; Base Sequence; Biological and medical sciences; CDC2-CDC28 Kinases; Cell cycle; Cell death; Cell lines; Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 2; Cyclin-Dependent Kinases - metabolism; Enzyme Activation; Epithelial cells; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Gene Products, tat - pharmacology; Gene Products, tat - physiology; Genes, tat; HeLa cells; HIV; HIV 1; Human immunodeficiency virus; human immunodeficiency virus 1; Humans; Immunity (Disease); Infections; Leukocytes, Mononuclear - cytology; Leukocytes, Mononuclear - enzymology; Logical Thinking; Lymphocytes; Microbiology; Molecular Sequence Data; Pathology; Patients; Protein-Serine-Threonine Kinases - metabolism; Proteins; Recombinant Proteins - pharmacology; Replicative cycle, interference, host-virus relations, pathogenicity, miscellaneous strains; T cells; T lymphocytes; T-Lymphocytes - cytology; T-Lymphocytes - enzymology; tat Gene Products, Human Immunodeficiency Virus; Transfection; Tumor Cells, Cultured; Virology; Human; HIV-1 virus; Retroviridae; Host virus relation; In vitro; Pathogenicity; Virus; Cell line; Cell death; T-Lymphocyte; Lentivirinae; Human immunodeficiency virus; Apoptosis
• ISSN: 0036-8075; 1095-9203
• DOI: 10.1126/science.7716549

Infection by human immunodeficiency virus-type 1 (HIV-1) is typified by the progressive depletion of CD4 T lymphocytes and deterioration of immune function in most patients. A central unresolved issue in acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) pathogenesis is the mechanism underlying this T cell depletion. HIV-1 Tat protein was shown to induce cell death by apoptosis in a T cell line and in cultured peripheral blood mononuclear cells from uninfected donors. This Tat-induced apoptosis was inhibitable by growth factors and was associated with enhanced activation of cyclin-dependent kinases.