This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Li, M.
Right arrow Articles by Green, P. L.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Li, M.
Right arrow Articles by Green, P. L.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Journal of Virology, April 2009, p. 3788-3797, Vol. 83, No. 8
0022-538X/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JVI.02315-08
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Kinetic Analysis of Human T-Cell Leukemia Virus Type 1 Gene Expression in Cell Culture and Infected Animals{triangledown}

Min Li,1,2 Matthew Kesic,1,2 Han Yin,1,2 Lianbo Yu,4,5 and Patrick L. Green1,2,3,5*

Center for Retrovirus Research,1 Departments of Veterinary Biosciences,2 Molecular Virology, Immunology, and Medical Genetics,3 Center for Biostatistics,4 Comprehensive Cancer Center and Solove Research Institute, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 432105

Received 5 November 2008/ Accepted 25 January 2009

Human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1) infection causes adult T-cell leukemia and is associated with a variety of lymphocyte-mediated disorders. It has been hypothesized that a highly regulated pattern of HTLV-1 gene expression is critical for virus survival and disease pathogenesis. In this study, real-time reverse transcriptase PCR was used to determine the kinetics of viral gene expression in cells transiently transfected with an HTLV-1 proviral plasmid, in newly infected human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), and in PBMCs from newly infected rabbits. The HTLV-1 gene expression profiles in transiently transfected and infected cells were similar; over time, all transcripts increased and then maintained stable levels. gag/pol, tax/rex, and env mRNA were detected first and at the highest levels, whereas the expression levels of the accessory genes, including the antisense Hbz, were significantly lower than the tax/rex levels (ranging from 1 to 4 logs depending on the specific mRNA). In infected rabbits, tax/rex and gag/pol mRNA levels peaked early after inoculation and progressively decreased, which correlated inversely with the proviral load and host antibody response against viral proteins. Interestingly, Hbz mRNA was detectable at 1 week postinfection and increased and stabilized. The expression levels of all other HTLV-1 genes in infected rabbit PBMCs were at or below our limit of detection. This analysis provides insight into viral gene expression under various in vitro and in vivo experimental conditions. Our in vivo data indicate that in infected rabbits, Hbz mRNA expression over time directly correlates with the proviral load, which provides the first evidence linking Hbz expression to proviral load and the survival of the virus-infected cell in the host.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: The Ohio State University, 1925 Coffey Road, Columbus, OH 43210. Phone: (614) 688-4899. Fax: (614) 292-6473. E-mail: green.466{at}osu.edu

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 4 January 2009.

Journal of Virology, April 2009, p. 3788-3797, Vol. 83, No. 8
0022-538X/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JVI.02315-08
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.





Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»