The transactivator protein (Tat) of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a key regulatory protein in the viral replication cycle and belongs to the RNA binding proteins of the arginine-rich motif (ARM) family. Very little is known about their mechanism of RNA recognition. To study the principles of RNA-protein recognition we constructed a system to display HIV-1 Tat on the surface of the f...

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have a fundamental role in diabetic heart failure. The cardioprotective miRNA-133a (miR-133a) is downregulated, and contractility is decreased in diabetic hearts. Norepinephrine (NE) is a key catecholamine that stimulates contractility by activating β-adrenergic receptors (β-AR). NE is synthesized from tyrosine by the rate-limiting enzyme, tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), and tyros...

The HIV-1 protein, Tat has been implicated in AIDS pathogenesis however, the amount of circulating Tat is believed to be very low and its quantification has been difficult. We performed the quantification of Tat released from infected cells and taken up by neurons using high performance capillary electrophoresis. This is the first report to successfully measure the amount of Tat in neurons and ...

We have determined the concentrations of two tumor-associated trypsinogen (TAT) isoenzymes, called TAT-1 and TAT-2, in human ovarian tumor cyst fluid using monoclonal antibody-based ¡mmunofluorometric assays specific for each isoenzyme. TAT-1 and TAT-2 are immunologically indistinguishable from the two pancreatic trypsinogen isoenzymes, cationic trypsinogen (-1) and anionic trypsinogen (-2). O...

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)-associated dementia is observed in 20-30% of patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). The epsilon4 allele of the apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene currently is thought to play a role as a risk factor for the development of HIV dementia. The HIV protein Tat is neurotoxic and binds to the same receptor as apoE, the low-density lipoprotein rec...

DNA vaccines are cost-effective to manufacture on a global scale and Tat-based DNA vaccines have yielded protective outcomes in preclinical and clinical models of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), highlighting the potential of such vaccines. However, Tat-based DNA vaccines have been poorly immunogenic, and despite the administration of multiple doses and/or the addition of adjuvants, these va...

The regulatory Tat protein of the human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1) is essential for viral replication and also shows pleiotropic activities on various cell functions. To get further insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying the biological activity of Tat, we investigated the effect of endogenous and exogenous Tat protein on c-fos gene expression in T lymphoblastoid (Jurkat) a...

HIV Tat, a transactivator of viral transcription, represses transcription of major histocompatibility (MHC) class I genes. Repression depends exclusively on the C-terminal domain of Tat, although the mechanism of this repression has not been known. We now show that repression results from the interaction of Tat with the TAFII250 component of the general transcription factor, TFIID. The C-termin...

We have reported previously that HIV-TAT-dominant negative (dn) Ras inhibits eosinophil adhesion to ICAM-1 after activation by IL-5 and eotaxin. In this study, we evaluated the role of Ras in Ag-induced airway inflammation and hyperresponsiveness by i.p. administration into mice of dnRas, which was fused to an HIV-TAT protein transduction domain (TAT-dnRas). Uptake of TAT-dnRas (t(1/2) = 12 h) ...

PURPOSE The cell cycle inhibitor p15(INK4b) has been localized in migrating corneal epithelial cells. In this study, TAT-fusion protein technology was used to transduce p15(INK4b) into human corneal epithelial cells to examine the effect on cell proliferation and migration. METHODS Human p15(INK4b), obtained by RT-PCR, was cloned into a TAT-HA vector, and the fusion protein was purified from ...