title: Synthesis of functional human immunodeficiency virus tat protein in baculovirus as determined by a cell-cell fusion assay.
abstract: The human immunodeficiency virus tat protein is a strong trans-activator of the expression of mRNAs originating from the viral long terminal repeat. We have expressed the first 72 amino acids (coding exon 1) of this protein in eucaryotic Spodoptera frugiperda SF9 cells by using a baculovirus vector, Autographa californica nuclear polyhedrosis virus. We show that the baculovirus vector stably produced the 72-amino-acid form of the tat protein but was unable to stably synthesize a larger 101-amino-acid full-length version of the same polypeptide. The 72-amino-acid tat protein, when introduced into mammalian fibroblasts by using a cell-cell fusion technique, functionally trans-activated the expression of the human immunodeficiency virus long terminal repeat.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Molecular Virology, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland 20892.
authors.forename: K T
authors.initials: KT
authors.lastname: Jeang
authors.forename: P R
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Shank
authors.forename: A B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Rabson
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kumar
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D002459:Cell Fusion; D002460:Cell Line; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics; D005091:Exons; D005347:Fibroblasts; D015696:Gene Products, tat; D005822:Genetic Vectors; D006678:HIV / Q000235:genetics*; D007304:Insect Viruses / Q000235:genetics*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011233:Precipitin Tests; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics; D014162:Transfection; D054322:tat Gene Products, Human Immunodeficiency Virus
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral; D015696:Gene Products, tat; D014157:Transcription Factors; D054322:tat Gene Products, Human Immunodeficiency Virus