Skip to main content
PMC home page
Journal of Virology logoLink to Journal of Virology
. 1992 Mar;66(3):1809–1813. doi: 10.1128/jvi.66.3.1809-1813.1992

Efficient replication of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 requires a threshold level of Rev: potential implications for latency.

R J Pomerantz 1, T Seshamma 1, D Trono 1
PMCID: PMC240948  PMID: 1738210

Abstract

The Rev protein of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) is essential for the expression of the structural genes of HIV-1. To determine whether a functional threshold level of Rev is required to allow efficient HIV-1 replication, CD4-positive HeLa cells, constitutively expressing a Rev-deficient provirus, were transfected with various quantities of a Rev-expressing plasmid. Compared with the quantity of the Rev-producing plasmid transfected, HIV-1 replication was distinctly nonlinear as measured by HIV-1 p24 antigen and HIV-1-specific RNA production. A quantitative RNA polymerase chain reaction (PCR) demonstrated that Rev mRNA expression was linearly correlated with the quantity of Rev-expressing plasmid which was transfected into these cells. These data suggest that a critical threshold of Rev is required for a highly productive HIV-1 infection. This threshold level of Rev may be involved in the generation and maintenance of HIV-1 proviral latency.

Full text

PDF
1811

Images in this article

1811Image
on p.1811
1811Image
on p.1811

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Arrigo S. J., Chen I. S. Rev is necessary for translation but not cytoplasmic accumulation of HIV-1 vif, vpr, and env/vpu 2 RNAs. Genes Dev. 1991 May;5(5):808–819. doi: 10.1101/gad.5.5.808. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Arrigo S. J., Weitsman S., Rosenblatt J. D., Chen I. S. Analysis of rev gene function on human immunodeficiency virus type 1 replication in lymphoid cells by using a quantitative polymerase chain reaction method. J Virol. 1989 Nov;63(11):4875–4881. doi: 10.1128/jvi.63.11.4875-4881.1989. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Baltimore D. Gene therapy. Intracellular immunization. Nature. 1988 Sep 29;335(6189):395–396. doi: 10.1038/335395a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Bradford M. M. A rapid and sensitive method for the quantitation of microgram quantities of protein utilizing the principle of protein-dye binding. Anal Biochem. 1976 May 7;72:248–254. doi: 10.1006/abio.1976.9999. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Chang D. D., Sharp P. A. Regulation by HIV Rev depends upon recognition of splice sites. Cell. 1989 Dec 1;59(5):789–795. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(89)90602-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Chesebro B., Wehrly K. Development of a sensitive quantitative focal assay for human immunodeficiency virus infectivity. J Virol. 1988 Oct;62(10):3779–3788. doi: 10.1128/jvi.62.10.3779-3788.1988. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Chirgwin J. M., Przybyla A. E., MacDonald R. J., Rutter W. J. Isolation of biologically active ribonucleic acid from sources enriched in ribonuclease. Biochemistry. 1979 Nov 27;18(24):5294–5299. doi: 10.1021/bi00591a005. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Clouse K. A., Powell D., Washington I., Poli G., Strebel K., Farrar W., Barstad P., Kovacs J., Fauci A. S., Folks T. M. Monokine regulation of human immunodeficiency virus-1 expression in a chronically infected human T cell clone. J Immunol. 1989 Jan 15;142(2):431–438. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Cullen B. R., Greene W. C. Regulatory pathways governing HIV-1 replication. Cell. 1989 Aug 11;58(3):423–426. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(89)90420-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Emerman M., Vazeux R., Peden K. The rev gene product of the human immunodeficiency virus affects envelope-specific RNA localization. Cell. 1989 Jun 30;57(7):1155–1165. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(89)90053-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Fauci A. S. The human immunodeficiency virus: infectivity and mechanisms of pathogenesis. Science. 1988 Feb 5;239(4840):617–622. doi: 10.1126/science.3277274. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Feinberg M. B., Baltimore D., Frankel A. D. The role of Tat in the human immunodeficiency virus life cycle indicates a primary effect on transcriptional elongation. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1991 May 1;88(9):4045–4049. doi: 10.1073/pnas.88.9.4045. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Feinberg M. B., Jarrett R. F., Aldovini A., Gallo R. C., Wong-Staal F. HTLV-III expression and production involve complex regulation at the levels of splicing and translation of viral RNA. Cell. 1986 Sep 12;46(6):807–817. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(86)90062-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Felber B. K., Hadzopoulou-Cladaras M., Cladaras C., Copeland T., Pavlakis G. N. rev protein of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 affects the stability and transport of the viral mRNA. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1989 Mar;86(5):1495–1499. doi: 10.1073/pnas.86.5.1495. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Folks T. M., Clouse K. A., Justement J., Rabson A., Duh E., Kehrl J. H., Fauci A. S. Tumor necrosis factor alpha induces expression of human immunodeficiency virus in a chronically infected T-cell clone. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1989 Apr;86(7):2365–2368. doi: 10.1073/pnas.86.7.2365. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Folks T. M., Justement J., Kinter A., Dinarello C. A., Fauci A. S. Cytokine-induced expression of HIV-1 in a chronically infected promonocyte cell line. Science. 1987 Nov 6;238(4828):800–802. doi: 10.1126/science.3313729. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Garcia-Blanco M. A., Cullen B. R. Molecular basis of latency in pathogenic human viruses. Science. 1991 Nov 8;254(5033):815–820. doi: 10.1126/science.1658933. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Gorman C. M., Moffat L. F., Howard B. H. Recombinant genomes which express chloramphenicol acetyltransferase in mammalian cells. Mol Cell Biol. 1982 Sep;2(9):1044–1051. doi: 10.1128/mcb.2.9.1044. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Hadzopoulou-Cladaras M., Felber B. K., Cladaras C., Athanassopoulos A., Tse A., Pavlakis G. N. The rev (trs/art) protein of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 affects viral mRNA and protein expression via a cis-acting sequence in the env region. J Virol. 1989 Mar;63(3):1265–1274. doi: 10.1128/jvi.63.3.1265-1274.1989. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Hammarskjöld M. L., Heimer J., Hammarskjöld B., Sangwan I., Albert L., Rekosh D. Regulation of human immunodeficiency virus env expression by the rev gene product. J Virol. 1989 May;63(5):1959–1966. doi: 10.1128/jvi.63.5.1959-1966.1989. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Havton L., Kellerth J. O. Regeneration by supernumerary axons with synaptic terminals in spinal motoneurons of cats. Nature. 1987 Feb 19;325(6106):711–714. doi: 10.1038/325711a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Ho D. D., Pomerantz R. J., Kaplan J. C. Pathogenesis of infection with human immunodeficiency virus. N Engl J Med. 1987 Jul 30;317(5):278–286. doi: 10.1056/NEJM198707303170505. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Kim S. Y., Byrn R., Groopman J., Baltimore D. Temporal aspects of DNA and RNA synthesis during human immunodeficiency virus infection: evidence for differential gene expression. J Virol. 1989 Sep;63(9):3708–3713. doi: 10.1128/jvi.63.9.3708-3713.1989. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Kjems J., Brown M., Chang D. D., Sharp P. A. Structural analysis of the interaction between the human immunodeficiency virus Rev protein and the Rev response element. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1991 Feb 1;88(3):683–687. doi: 10.1073/pnas.88.3.683. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Knight D. M., Flomerfelt F. A., Ghrayeb J. Expression of the art/trs protein of HIV and study of its role in viral envelope synthesis. Science. 1987 May 15;236(4803):837–840. doi: 10.1126/science.3033827. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. Lenardo M. J., Baltimore D. NF-kappa B: a pleiotropic mediator of inducible and tissue-specific gene control. Cell. 1989 Jul 28;58(2):227–229. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(89)90833-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  27. Leonard J., Parrott C., Buckler-White A. J., Turner W., Ross E. K., Martin M. A., Rabson A. B. The NF-kappa B binding sites in the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 long terminal repeat are not required for virus infectivity. J Virol. 1989 Nov;63(11):4919–4924. doi: 10.1128/jvi.63.11.4919-4924.1989. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  28. Lifson A. R., Rutherford G. W., Jaffe H. W. The natural history of human immunodeficiency virus infection. J Infect Dis. 1988 Dec;158(6):1360–1367. doi: 10.1093/infdis/158.6.1360. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  29. Malim M. H., Böhnlein S., Hauber J., Cullen B. R. Functional dissection of the HIV-1 Rev trans-activator--derivation of a trans-dominant repressor of Rev function. Cell. 1989 Jul 14;58(1):205–214. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(89)90416-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  30. Malim M. H., Cullen B. R. HIV-1 structural gene expression requires the binding of multiple Rev monomers to the viral RRE: implications for HIV-1 latency. Cell. 1991 Apr 19;65(2):241–248. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(91)90158-u. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  31. Malim M. H., Hauber J., Fenrick R., Cullen B. R. Immunodeficiency virus rev trans-activator modulates the expression of the viral regulatory genes. Nature. 1988 Sep 8;335(6186):181–183. doi: 10.1038/335181a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  32. Malim M. H., Hauber J., Le S. Y., Maizel J. V., Cullen B. R. The HIV-1 rev trans-activator acts through a structured target sequence to activate nuclear export of unspliced viral mRNA. Nature. 1989 Mar 16;338(6212):254–257. doi: 10.1038/338254a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  33. McCune J. M., Rabin L. B., Feinberg M. B., Lieberman M., Kosek J. C., Reyes G. R., Weissman I. L. Endoproteolytic cleavage of gp160 is required for the activation of human immunodeficiency virus. Cell. 1988 Apr 8;53(1):55–67. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(88)90487-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  34. Michael N. L., Morrow P., Mosca J., Vahey M., Burke D. S., Redfield R. R. Induction of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 expression in chronically infected cells is associated primarily with a shift in RNA splicing patterns. J Virol. 1991 Mar;65(3):1291–1303. doi: 10.1128/jvi.65.3.1291-1303.1991. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  35. Mikovits J. A., Raziuddin, Gonda M., Ruta M., Lohrey N. C., Kung H. F., Ruscetti F. W. Negative regulation of human immune deficiency virus replication in monocytes. Distinctions between restricted and latent expression in THP-1 cells. J Exp Med. 1990 May 1;171(5):1705–1720. doi: 10.1084/jem.171.5.1705. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  36. Moss A. R., Bacchetti P., Osmond D., Krampf W., Chaisson R. E., Stites D., Wilber J., Allain J. P., Carlson J. Seropositivity for HIV and the development of AIDS or AIDS related condition: three year follow up of the San Francisco General Hospital cohort. Br Med J (Clin Res Ed) 1988 Mar 12;296(6624):745–750. doi: 10.1136/bmj.296.6624.745. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  37. Muesing M. A., Smith D. H., Capon D. J. Regulation of mRNA accumulation by a human immunodeficiency virus trans-activator protein. Cell. 1987 Feb 27;48(4):691–701. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(87)90247-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  38. Olsen H. S., Cochrane A. W., Dillon P. J., Nalin C. M., Rosen C. A. Interaction of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 Rev protein with a structured region in env mRNA is dependent on multimer formation mediated through a basic stretch of amino acids. Genes Dev. 1990 Aug;4(8):1357–1364. doi: 10.1101/gad.4.8.1357. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  39. Pomerantz R. J., Feinberg M. B., Andino R., Baltimore D. The long terminal repeat is not a major determinant of the cellular tropism of human immunodeficiency virus type 1. J Virol. 1991 Feb;65(2):1041–1045. doi: 10.1128/jvi.65.2.1041-1045.1991. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  40. Pomerantz R. J., Feinberg M. B., Trono D., Baltimore D. Lipopolysaccharide is a potent monocyte/macrophage-specific stimulator of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 expression. J Exp Med. 1990 Jul 1;172(1):253–261. doi: 10.1084/jem.172.1.253. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  41. Pomerantz R. J., Trono D., Feinberg M. B., Baltimore D. Cells nonproductively infected with HIV-1 exhibit an aberrant pattern of viral RNA expression: a molecular model for latency. Cell. 1990 Jun 29;61(7):1271–1276. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(90)90691-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  42. Schnittman S. M., Greenhouse J. J., Lane H. C., Pierce P. F., Fauci A. S. Frequent detection of HIV-1-specific mRNAs in infected individuals suggests ongoing active viral expression in all stages of disease. AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses. 1991 Apr;7(4):361–367. doi: 10.1089/aid.1991.7.361. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  43. Schwartz S., Felber B. K., Benko D. M., Fenyö E. M., Pavlakis G. N. Cloning and functional analysis of multiply spliced mRNA species of human immunodeficiency virus type 1. J Virol. 1990 Jun;64(6):2519–2529. doi: 10.1128/jvi.64.6.2519-2529.1990. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  44. Sharp P. A., Marciniak R. A. HIV TAR: an RNA enhancer? Cell. 1989 Oct 20;59(2):229–230. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(89)90279-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  45. Simonsen C. C., Levinson A. D. Isolation and expression of an altered mouse dihydrofolate reductase cDNA. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1983 May;80(9):2495–2499. doi: 10.1073/pnas.80.9.2495. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  46. Sodroski J., Goh W. C., Rosen C., Dayton A., Terwilliger E., Haseltine W. A second post-transcriptional trans-activator gene required for HTLV-III replication. Nature. 1986 May 22;321(6068):412–417. doi: 10.1038/321412a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  47. Trono D., Andino R., Baltimore D. An RNA sequence of hundreds of nucleotides at the 5' end of poliovirus RNA is involved in allowing viral protein synthesis. J Virol. 1988 Jul;62(7):2291–2299. doi: 10.1128/jvi.62.7.2291-2299.1988. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  48. Trono D., Baltimore D. A human cell factor is essential for HIV-1 Rev action. EMBO J. 1990 Dec;9(12):4155–4160. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1990.tb07638.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  49. Trono D., Feinberg M. B., Baltimore D. HIV-1 Gag mutants can dominantly interfere with the replication of the wild-type virus. Cell. 1989 Oct 6;59(1):113–120. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(89)90874-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  50. Zack J. A., Arrigo S. J., Weitsman S. R., Go A. S., Haislip A., Chen I. S. HIV-1 entry into quiescent primary lymphocytes: molecular analysis reveals a labile, latent viral structure. Cell. 1990 Apr 20;61(2):213–222. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(90)90802-l. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  51. Zapp M. L., Hope T. J., Parslow T. G., Green M. R. Oligomerization and RNA binding domains of the type 1 human immunodeficiency virus Rev protein: a dual function for an arginine-rich binding motif. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1991 Sep 1;88(17):7734–7738. doi: 10.1073/pnas.88.17.7734. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Journal of Virology are provided here courtesy of American Society for Microbiology (ASM)

RESOURCES