title: IL-16 represses HIV-1 promoter activity.
abstract: IL-16 is produced by CD8+ lymphocytes and has been reported to inhibit HIV-1 and SIV replication in infected PBMCs. CD4 serves as a receptor for the secreted form of IL-16, and IL-16 binding to CD4 induces signal transduction, which affects the activation state of the cell. We hypothesized, therefore, that the effect of IL-16 on HIV-1 replication might occur at the level of virus expression. In transient transfection studies with HIV-1 LTR-reporter gene constructs we found that pretreatment of CD4+ lymphoid cells with recombinant IL-16 repressed HIV-1 promoter activity up to 60-fold, preventing both PMA and Tat activation. This effect of IL-16 required sequences contained within the core enhancer, but was not simply due to the down-regulation of transcription factors binding to this element.
authors.affiliation: The Program in Virology and Immunology, University of Massachusetts Medical Center, Worcester 01605, USA.
authors.forename: J W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Maciaszek
authors.forename: N A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Parada
authors.forename: W W
authors.initials: WW
authors.lastname: Cruikshank
authors.forename: D M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Center
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kornfeld
authors.forename: G A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Viglianti
mesh_terms: D015536:Down-Regulation / Q000187:drug effects*; D015696:Gene Products, tat / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology; D016325:HIV Long Terminal Repeat / Q000187:drug effects*; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000187:drug effects*; D006801:Humans; D019410:Interleukin-16 / Q000494:pharmacology*; D016328:NF-kappa B / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology; D014775:Virus Activation / Q000187:drug effects; D054322:tat Gene Products, Human Immunodeficiency Virus
chemical_list: D015696:Gene Products, tat; D019410:Interleukin-16; D016328:NF-kappa B; D054322:tat Gene Products, Human Immunodeficiency Virus