title: Antitat gene therapy: a candidate for late-stage AIDS patients.
abstract: Antitat is an autoregulated gene expressing an inhibitory RNA with dual function: it sequesters the Tat protein by polymeric-TAR and blocks the translation of the Tat messenger RNA by antisense-Tat. Using human T cell lines and peripheral blood lymphocytes as the in vitro target, we have previously shown that antitat is an effective long-term suppressor of HIV-1, including 'field' isolates. To assess the efficacy of this inhibitory gene better in the setting of an infected individual with late-stage AIDS, we examined its antiviral activity in an in vivo established infection. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells isolated from AIDS patients were transduced with replication defective retroviral vectors carrying the antitat gene. In the absence of cell selection, the antitat gene blocked virus replication and allowed infected CD4+ T cells to expand in culture. These results suggest that antitat gene therapy may be beneficial to block HIV-1 replication and reconstitute the immune system of late-phase AIDS patients. We introduced a new parameter, CRF, which defines the effectiveness of the ex vivo gene therapy treatment of AIDS patients. Antitat treatment was efficient in cells of all patients regardless of viral quasispecies, however, it was most potent in severely immunocompromised individuals.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Tumor Cell Biology, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892-4255, USA.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lisziewicz
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lisziewicz
authors.forename: R C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Gallo
mesh_terms: D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000276:immunology / Q000628:therapy*; D018791:CD4 Lymphocyte Count; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology / Q000821:virology*; D015696:Gene Products, tat / Q000378:metabolism; D018014:Gene Transfer Techniques; D015756:Genes, tat / Q000235:genetics*; D015316:Genetic Therapy / Q000379:methods; D005822:Genetic Vectors / Q000235:genetics; D016655:HIV Core Protein p24 / Q000096:biosynthesis; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000276:immunology / Q000628:therapy; D016325:HIV Long Terminal Repeat / Q000235:genetics*; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D016372:RNA, Antisense / Q000235:genetics; D012190:Retroviridae / Q000235:genetics; D014779:Virus Replication / Q000235:genetics; D054322:tat Gene Products, Human Immunodeficiency Virus
chemical_list: D015696:Gene Products, tat; D016655:HIV Core Protein p24; D016372:RNA, Antisense; D054322:tat Gene Products, Human Immunodeficiency Virus