The Tat protein of equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) activates cellular gene expression by read-through transcription.
The Tat protein of equine infectious anemia virus, EIAV, was shown to augment viral gene expression, presumably through interaction with the Tat responsive element, TAR. Recently, cell-free polyadenylation assays suggested that perturbation of the EIAV TAR secondary structure diminished polyadenylation efficiency. The present study indicates that the EIAV TAR regulates the efficiency of the 3'-end processing of viral RNA also in transfected cells. Moreover, our data suggest that the provision of the EIAV Tat protein in trans potentiates read-through transcription through the 3' viral long terminal repeat (3' LTR), thus suggesting activation of downstream-located cellular genes.
Department of Human Microbiology, Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel.
R
R
Rosin-Arbesfeld
D
D
Willbold
A
A
Yaniv
A
A
Gazit
D000818:Animals; D002474:Cell-Free System; D017931:DNA Primers; D004285:Dogs; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D015696:Gene Products, tat / Q000378:metabolism*; D015756:Genes, tat; D006736:Horses; D016297:Mutagenesis, Site-Directed; D016366:Open Reading Frames; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D017433:Protein Structure, Secondary; D012322:RNA Precursors / Q000235:genetics; D012323:RNA Processing, Post-Transcriptional; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics*; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D012091:Repetitive Sequences, Nucleic Acid; D014158:Transcription, Genetic; D014162:Transfection
D017931:DNA Primers; D015696:Gene Products, tat; D012322:RNA Precursors; D012367:RNA, Viral; D011994:Recombinant Proteins