The promoter of human T-cell leukemia virus type-I is repressed by the immediate-early gene region of human cytomegalovirus in primary blood lymphocytes.
Infection with human T-cell leukemia virus type-I (HTLV-1) is associated with a low incidence of morbidity in the form of adult T-cell leukemia as well as neurologic disease, including tropical spastic paraparesis/HTLV-I-associated myelopathy, suggesting that there are other important factors which determine outcome of infection. HTLV-I and the human herpesvirus, cytomegalovirus (HCMV), have both been shown to infect OKT4+ T lymphocytes in vitro as well as in vivo. We investigated the effects of expression of HCMV IE-2 protein(s) on the HTLV-I long terminal repeat (LTR) containing the promoter elements in T-cell lines and primary lymphocytes. A consistent repressive effect was observed on HTLV-I LTR-driven chloramphenicol acetyl transferase activity after cotransfection with the HCMV IE-2 gene region, both in HTLV-I-producing cell lines as well as in uninfected primary peripheral blood lymphocytes and cloned lymphocyte lines. This repressive effect on the HTLV-I LTR by the HCMV IE-2 gene product(s) represent a unique interaction between two viruses capable of infecting the same target cell in vivo. Such an interaction may have important implications for disease expression associated with HTLV-I infection.
Gartenhaus
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RB
Laboratory of Tumor Cell Biology, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892.
Wong-Staal
F
F
Klotman
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ME
D001483:Base Sequence; D003587:Cytomegalovirus / Q000235:genetics*; D004252:DNA Mutational Analysis; D015967:Gene Expression Regulation, Viral; D015368:Human T-lymphotropic virus 1 / Q000235:genetics*; D017874:Immediate-Early Proteins; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009687:Nuclear Proteins / Q000502:physiology*; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics; D012097:Repressor Proteins; D015534:Trans-Activators; D014759:Viral Envelope Proteins; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000502:physiology*
C069186:IE2 protein, Cytomegalovirus; D017874:Immediate-Early Proteins; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; D012367:RNA, Viral; D012097:Repressor Proteins; D015534:Trans-Activators; C077406:UL115 protein, Human herpesvirus 5; D014759:Viral Envelope Proteins; D014764:Viral Proteins; C071440:glycoprotein H, Cytomegalovirus; C499358:glycoprotein H, Human cytomegalovirus; C439068:glycoprotein O, cytomegalovirus