• Korean Journal of Oriental Medicine
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.119-126
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• 2004

For the purpose of developing new anti-HIV agents from natural sources, the extracts of Solanum nigrum L. were tested for their inhibitory effects on HIV-1 replication and its essential enzymes as the reverse transcriptase (RT), protease and ${\alpha}$-glucosidase. In the assay of HIV-1-infected human T-cell line, water extracts inhibited the HIV- 1 -induced cytopathic effects with IC (inhibitory concentration) of 100 ug/ml. Moreover water extracts (100ug/ml) of aerial parts showed strong activity of 32.6% on anti-HIV-1 PR using the activity of the enzyme to cleave an oligopeptide. In the HIV-1 reverse transcriptase inhibition assay, aqueous extract a inhibited 17.4%, but no glucosidase inhibitory activities. We found out this result, for these samples it is possible that the inhibition of the viral replication in vitro is due to the inhibition at least one of PR and RT. It would be of great interest to identify the compounds which are responsible for this inhibition, since all therapeutically useful agent up to date are PR, RT and ${\alpha}$-glucosidase inhibitors.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Applied Pharmacology
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• 1995.04a
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• pp.77-77
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• 1995

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) contains several nonstructural genes which are required for the viral replication and disease pathogenesis. Among them, tat and nef genes encode an essential transactivator of HIV-1 LTR and a pluripotent protein which seems to be essential for the in vivo but not in vitro viral replication, respectively. We constructed two tat and n of defective HIV-1 and tested for their ability to replicate in several T cells. The defective viruses did not replicate in CD4$\^$+/ T cells, but rescued in the recombinant Jurkat-tat cell which also contains tat gene. The replication of tat and nef defective HIV-1 which expresses chloramphenicol acetyltransferase(CAT) gene was easily detected by a sensitive CAT assay. No revertant was identified during the passages of the mutant viruses for more than two months in Jurkat-tat cells. tat and n of defective HIV-1 could be used instead of wild type viruse for several purposes such as inhibitor screening and development of attenuated AIDS vaccine.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.277-281
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• 2008

HIV affects many organ systems. Patients with HIV infection have substantially increased risk of developing various cancers, primarily by opportunistic infection with oncogenic viruses due to their immunocompromised status. However, extensive evidence also indicates that the viral protein, Tat itself, may playas a major factor in the development of AIDS-related neoplasms. The molecular mechanism underlying Tat's oncogenic activity may include deregulation of cellular genes. Therefore, in this study, we examined the effect of HIV-l Tat on CD99 as one of the target cellular genes, which is a well-known tumor marker in several cancers. By using established HeLa clones that are stably expressing Tat, we found that CD99 is upregulated by endogenous Tat, whereas STAT3 is down regulated. Upon the screening of genes differentially expressed between Tat-stable cells and the control cells by using the gene fishing technique, DEG, we detected 3 genes which expression is affected by the presence of Tat. Furthermore, the methylation specific PCR analysis of the stably Tat expressing cell lines revealed that the CD99 promoter is de methylated in the presence of Tat. Taken together, these results open a potential role of CD99 in AIDS-related oncogenesis via epigenetic regulation by HIV-1 Tat.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.234-241
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• 2001

The C-terminal 393 bp region of the human interleukin-16 (IL-16) gene was cloned and expressed in E. coli along with mammalian cell lines. Recombinant IL-16 expressed from E. coli was 22 kDa on SDS-PAGE and showed 260% of chemoattractant activity at a concentration of $0.1\;{\mu}g/ml$. HeLa, COS, and Neuro-2a cells were transduced by recombinant retrovirus vector pLNC/IL-16/IRES/TK and the intracellular and secreted amounts of IL-16 produced by HeLa/IL-16/TK, COS/IL-16/TK, and Neuro-2a/IL-16/TK cells were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). HeLa/IL-16/TK $(1{\times}10^5)$ and COS/IL-16/TK $(1{\times}10^5)$ cells secreted 36.1 and 13.3 ng of IL-16 for 48 h, respectively. Forty-nine ng and 86.4 ng of IL-16 remained in the cell lysates of HeLa/IL-16/TK and COS/IL-16/TK. Intracellular and secreted amounts of IL-16 from Neuro-2a/IL-16/TK $(5{\times}10^5)$ cells during 24 h cultivation were 50 ng and 3.3 ng, respectively. Also, HeLa and COS cells wee stably transfected with mammalian expression vector pCRIII/IL-16. Both culture media and cell lysates prepared from HeLa/IL-16 cells and COS/IL-16 cells showed chemoattractant activity ranging from 190% to 460% as compared to the control experiment. Expression of the herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase (HSV0tk) gene in pLNC/IL-16/ IRES/TK bicistronic retroviral expression vector was verified by performing a genciclovir (GCV) sensitivity assay. Finally, IL-16 repressed Tat-transactivated human immunodeficiency virus type 1 long terminal repeat (HIV-1 LTR) promoter activity.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.849-859
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• 2018

Herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) infection has been a public health concern worldwide. It is the leading cause of genital herpes and a contributing factor to cervical cancer and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. No vaccine is available yet for the treatment of HSV-2 infection, and routinely used synthetic nucleoside analogs have led to the emergence of drug resistance. The small molecule $Retro-2^{cycl}$ has been reported to be active against several pathogens by acting on intracellular vesicle transport, which also participates in the HSV-2 lifecycle. Here, we showed that Retro-2.1, which is an optimized, more potent derivative of $Retro-2^{cycl}$, could inhibit HSV-2 infection, with 50% inhibitory concentrations of $5.58{\mu}M$ and $6.35{\mu}M$ in cytopathic effect inhibition and plaque reduction assays, respectively. The cytotoxicity of Retro-2.1 was relatively low, with a 50% cytotoxicity concentration of $116.5{\mu}M$. We also preliminarily identified that Retro-2.1 exerted the antiviral effect against HSV-2 by a dual mechanism of action on virus entry and late stages of infection. Therefore, our study for the first time demonstrated Retro-2.1 as an effective antiviral agent against HSV-2 in vitro with targets distinct from those of nucleoside analogs.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.49 no.3
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• pp.217-224
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• 2005

Human Immunodeficiency Virus type 1 (HIV-l) based lentivirus vector has demonstrated great potential as gene therapy vectors mediating efficient gene delivery and long-term transgene expression in both dividing and nondividing cells. However, for clinical studies it must be confirmed that vector preparations are safe and not contaminated by replication competent lentivirus (RCL) related to the parental pathogenic virus, HIV-l. In this study, we would like to establish the method for titration and RCL detection of lentivirus vector. The titration was determined by vector expression containing the green fluorescent protein, GFP in transduced cells. The titer was $1{\times}10^7$ Transducing Unit/ml in the GFP expression assay and $8.9{\times}10^7$ molecules/ml in the real-time PCR. Also, for the detection of RCL, we have used a combination method of PCR and p24 antigen detection. First, PBS/psi and VSV-G region in the genomic DNA of transduced cells was detected by PCR assay. Second, transfer and expression of the HIV-1 gag gene was detected by p24 ELISA. In an attempt to amplify any RCL, the transduced cells were cultured for 3 weeks (amplification phase) and the supernatant of amplified transduced cell was used for the second transduction to determine whether a true RCL was present (indicator phase). Analysis of cells and supernatant at day 6 in indicator phase were negative for PBS/psi, VSV-G, and p24 antigen. These results suggest that they are not mobilized and therefore there are no RCL in amplification phase. Thus, real-time PCR is a reliable and sensitive method for titration and RCL detection of lentivirus vector.

• The Journal of Korean Society of Virology
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.141-150
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• 1996

본 연구에서는 $CD4^+$ T 세포를 일회성으로 감염시킬 수 있고 $CD4^+$ T 세포에 HIV-1 envelope 유전자를 전달할 수 있는 바이러스 입자를 생산하는 HIV-1 complementation system을 개발하였고 이 system을 이용하여 $CD4^+$ T 세포에 선택적으로 HIV-1 envelope 당단백질을 발현시켰다. 이 system은 Gag/Gag-Pol expressor와 Env expressor로 구성되어있다. Gag/Gag-Pol expressor는 바이러스 입자 생산에 필요한 구조단백질과 기능단백질을 발현시키지만 packaging signal이 결핍되어 바이러스 입자로 유전자가 들어가지 못하도록 제조되었다. Env expressor는 Tat, Rev와 envelope 당단백질을 발현시키고 packaging signal을 갖고 있어 바이러스 입자로 envelope 유전자가 들어가도록 제조되었다. Gag/Gag-Pol expressor로부터 Gag와 Gag-Pol의 발현은 Rev 단백질을 요구하였고 Env expressor로부터 Rev 단백질 이 제공될 때 Gag와 Gag-Pol 단백질은 효율적으로 발현되었다. Gag/Gag-Pol과 Env expressor로 cotransfection된 COS-1 세포에서 $CD4^+$ T 세포를 일회성으로 감염시킬 수 있는 바이러스 입자가 생산되었다. 생산된 바이러스 입자는 $CD4^+$ T 세포에 HIV-1 envelope 유전자를 전달하여 envelope 당단백질을 발현시켰고 복제 가능한 자손 바이러스의 생성을 유도하지 못하였다. 본 연구에서 개발된 방법은 $CD4^+$ T 세포에서 envelope 당단백질의 기능을 분석하고 관심 있는 유전자를 $CD4^+$ T 세포에 전달하는 바이러스 입자의 생산에 이용할 수 있다.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.10 no.5
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• pp.663-669
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• 2000

The fur (ferric uptake regulation) expression vector pMON2064 was modified to produce a Fur-fusion expression vector. A kinker site, factor Xa cleavage site, and several restriction endonuclease sites were introduced to facilitate easy cloning and isolating of the fusion protein. The resulting fusion expression vector, pMONSTER, was then used to make fusion expression vector, pMONSTER, was then used to make fusion proteins with $\beta$-galactosidase and the protease of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1 PR). Strain SW4020 harboring the Fur $\beta$-galactosidase fusion vector produced blue colonies on a 5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl-$\beta$-D-galactoside plate and the resulting 133 kDa fusion protein reacted with an anti-Fur antibody. The strain harboring the Fur-HIV-1 PR fusion vector produced a 29 kDa fusion protein, which also reacted with an anti-Fur antibody. The Fur-HIV-1 PR fusion protein was purified by a single column application that was designed to isolate the Fur protein. The purified Fur-HIV-1 PR fusion protein digested with factor Xa cleaved a recombinant Gag protein to release smaller fragments, including a p24 capsid protein. The Fur-HIV-1 PR fusion protein itself did not exhibit any proteolytic activity.

• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.232-238
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• 2003

Previous phylogenetic studies on human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) isolated from Korean patients suggest that the major subtype of Korean isolate is subtype B. In this subtype, some of the Korean isolates seem to be clustered exclusively of foreign isolates. Presence of this so-called “Korean clade” among Korean isolates is unique but needs verification since the number of Korean isolates used in previous studies was limited. This study aimed to identify the presence of the “Korean clade” by molecular phylogenetic analysis using all the Korean nef gene sequences registered in the NCBI GenBank (N=243) together with 32 reference strains and 77 foreign isolates. Extensive analysis of the nef gene nucleotide sequences by neighbor-joining method revealed the following. Most (83.1 ％) of the Korean isolates belonged to subtype B, and 81.2％ of subtype B were clustered together and excluded foreign isolates (bootstrap value=91.9％ ). Within Korean subtype B cluster, no characteristic subcluster formation was evident since the bootstrap values for the subcluster were very low. Due to limited information, the phylogenetic analysis failed to identify the epidemiological linkage among specific groups such as homosexuals and hemophiliacs within the Korean subtype B cluster. Detailed analysis and epidemiological information are needed to clarify the origin and significance of the Korean subtype B cluster.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.235-241
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• 2003

We have previously demonstrated that intracellular expression of an RNA aptamer termed RRE40, which was selected in vitro to bind HIV Rev 10-fold much tighter than wild-type RRE, efficiently protected human CD4+ T cell line, CEM, from HIV-1. In this study, to evaluate the efficacy of the RRE40 RNA in clinical settings, polyclonal CD4+ peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBLs) were transduced with retroviral vectors expressing RRE40 decoy RNA and then challenged with clinical isolates of HIV-1. In contrast to the control cells transduced with vectors expressing control tRNA, intracellular expression of RRE40 RNA more effectively inhibited HIV-1 replication in CD4+ PBLs. However, transient and diminished inhibition, rather than complete inhibition, of HIV-1 replication in PBLs expressing RRE40 decoys have been observed. These results suggest that RRE40 decoy RNA would be useful to inhibit HIV-1 replication in cells. However, development of more efficient gene transfer protocols and/or more effective decoy RNAs would be needed to apply RNA decoy to modulate HIV-1 patient.