title: Selective recognition of viral promoters by host cell transcription complexes: challenges and opportunities to control latency.
abstract: The rate of transcription driven by the HIV promoter defines both the entry into and reactivation from viral latency. The HIV core promoter plays a pivotal role in HIV latency by recruiting host cell RNA polymerase II pre-initiation complexes essential for viral transcription. Pioneering studies on the HIV core promoter revealed that the architecture of the HIV core promoter is specifically required for the amplification of transcription in response to the viral trans-activator Tat, and provided the proof-of-concept that the HIV core promoter represents a tractable drug target. The recent discovery of host cell transcription complexes that selectively recognize the HIV core promoter provides new impetus to investigate their components as novel targets to therapeutically extinguish or eradicate latent HIV.
authors.affiliation: RNA Group, Département de microbiologie et d'infectiologie, Faculté de médecine et sciences de la santé, Université de Sherbrooke, Centre de recherche du CHUS, Sherbrooke, Québec J1E 4K8, Canada.
authors.forename: Emmanuelle
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Wilhelm
authors.forename: Brendan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bell
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015967:Gene Expression Regulation, Viral; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000821:virology; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D015533:Transcriptional Activation; D017735:Virus Latency
chemical_list: D014157:Transcription Factors