title: Human immunodeficiency virus tat-activated expression of poliovirus protein 2A inhibits mRNA translation.
abstract: To study the effect of poliovirus protein 2A on cellular RNA translation, the tat control system of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) was used. Protein 2A was expressed from a plasmid construct (pHIV/2A) incorporating the HIV long terminal repeat. Protein synthesis was measured by using chloramphenicol acetyltransferase as a reporter gene driven by the Rous sarcoma virus long terminal repeat. When HIV/2A was cotransfected with the reporter, addition of a tat-producing plasmid caused at least a 50-fold drop in chloramphenicol acetyltransferase synthesis. A HeLa cell line carrying HIV/2A was established. In it, tat expression caused more than a 10-fold drop in chloramphenicol acetyltransferase synthesis from the reporter plasmid. Furthermore, 2A induction by tat caused cleavage of the cellular translation factor P220, a part of eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4F. Thus protein 2A can, by itself, carry out the inhibition of cellular protein synthesis characteristic of a poliovirus infection. Also, the HIV tat activation provides a very effective method to control gene expression in mammalian cells.
authors.affiliation: Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, MA 02142.
authors.forename: X H
authors.initials: XH
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Baltimore
mesh_terms: D015500:Chloramphenicol O-Acetyltransferase / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics; D003546:Cysteine Endopeptidases / Q000235:genetics*; D039562:Eukaryotic Initiation Factor-4F; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D005814:Genes, Viral; D006678:HIV / Q000235:genetics*; D006367:HeLa Cells / Q000378:metabolism; D008970:Molecular Weight; D010448:Peptide Initiation Factors / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics; D010957:Plasmids; D017955:Poliovirus / Q000235:genetics*; D014176:Protein Biosynthesis; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics*; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis; D015183:Restriction Mapping; D014158:Transcription, Genetic; D014162:Transfection; D014764:Viral Proteins
chemical_list: D039562:Eukaryotic Initiation Factor-4F; D010448:Peptide Initiation Factors; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; D014764:Viral Proteins; D015500:Chloramphenicol O-Acetyltransferase; D003546:Cysteine Endopeptidases; C057400:picornain 2A, Picornavirus