Figure 7.

The basic domain of Tat is important for inducing the activation of pERK, Rho-A, and pMLC2 and increasing the expression of MMP-9 in the kidney of WT and HIV-Tg₂₆ young mice. Newborn FVB/N WT and HIV-Tg₂₆ mice (n=3 per group) were infected with adenoviral vectors carrying Tat-WT (Ad-Tat-WT) or Tat-BDM1 (Ad-Tat-BDM1). Mice were euthanized after 7 days, and their kidneys were processed for the signaling studies as described in Concise Methods. (A) The Western blots show representative results corresponding to three mice in each group. (B) The graphs summarize the results corresponding to all the kidney samples per group. Results were expressed in arbitrary OD units as a ratio of the total activity or normalized for β-actin for the MMP-9 expression. Values significantly different from the corresponding control group are marked: *P<0.05; **P<0.01.