Interaction with the Rev response element along an extended stem I duplex structure is required to complete human immunodeficiency virus type 1 rev-mediated trans-activation in vivo.
Expression of structural proteins of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 requires the direct interaction of the viral Rev trans-activator with its cis-acting RNA target sequence, the Rev response element (RRE). The originally defined 234-residue RRE, however, failed to show the full HIV-1 regulator of virion expression (Rev) response when inserted into a test plasmid that lacked the flanking env sequences. Here, we demonstrate that an alternative 351-residue complete RRE, which carries an extended Stem I structure, is required for the full Rev-responsiveness in vivo. Mutagenesis studies revealed that the association of Rev with RRE was initiated by the recognition of a functional bubble structure in stem-loop II, followed by interaction with the neighbouring duplex RNA, including the elongated Stem I structure. We propose that, as has been previously shown in vitro, the Rev-RRE interaction in vivo is an ordered assembly process and is based on the association of Rev molecules with the double-stranded region of RRE.
Department of Microbiology, Kansai Medical University, Osaka.
T
T
Kimura
A
A
Ohyama
D001483:Base Sequence; D017930:Genes, Reporter; D015752:Genes, env / Q000235:genetics*; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000235:genetics*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation; D012330:RNA, Double-Stranded / Q000235:genetics*; D015533:Transcriptional Activation
D012330:RNA, Double-Stranded