title: Inhibition of HIV-1 virus replication using small soluble Tat peptides.
abstract: Although the introduction of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) has led to a significant reduction in AIDS-related morbidity and mortality, unfortunately, many patients discontinue their initial HAART regimen, resulting in development of viral resistance. During HIV infection, the viral activator Tat is needed for viral progeny formation, and the basic and core domains of Tat are the most conserved parts of the protein. Here, we show that a Tat 41/44 peptide from the core domain can inhibit HIV-1 gene expression and replication. The peptides are not toxic to cells and target the Cdk2/Cyclin E complex, inhibiting the phosphorylation of serine 5 of RNAPII. Using the Cdk2 X-ray crystallography structure, we found that the low-energy wild-type peptides could bind to the ATP binding pocket, whereas the mutant peptide bound to the Cdk2 interface. Finally, we show that these peptides do not allow loading of the catalytic domain of the cdk/cyclin complex onto the HIV-1 promoter in vivo.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The George Washington University School of Medicine, Washington DC 20037, USA. eagbottah@gwu.edu
authors.forename: Emmanuel
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Agbottah
authors.forename: Naigong
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Shabnam
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dadgar
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pumfery
authors.forename: John D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Wade
authors.forename: Chen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zeng
authors.forename: Fatah
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Kashanchi
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001665:Binding Sites; D003198:Computer Simulation; D051357:Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 2 / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D015870:Gene Expression / Q000187:drug effects; D015696:Gene Products, tat / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000494:pharmacology*; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000821:virology; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear / Q000821:virology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010455:Peptides / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D012995:Solubility; D014779:Virus Replication / Q000187:drug effects*; D054322:tat Gene Products, Human Immunodeficiency Virus
chemical_list: D015696:Gene Products, tat; D010455:Peptides; D054322:tat Gene Products, Human Immunodeficiency Virus; D051357:Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 2