| Literature DB >> 2472639 |
E F Terwilliger1, E A Cohen, Y C Lu, J G Sodroski, W A Haseltine.
Abstract
To investigate the role of vpu in the replication and cytopathicity of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1), infectious proviruses were constructed that were isogenic except for the ability to produce the protein product of vpu. The vpu-encoded protein is shown to decrease the rate of syncytium formation and cell killing in infected CD4+ human T cells, to increase greatly the export of virus particles from infected cells, and to reduce the rate of accumulation of cell-associated viral proteins. The vpu protein complements in trans the defect in a vpu- HIV-1 provirus but does not affect the simian immunodeficiency virus, which lacks vpu. These observations suggest that vpu may contribute to the AIDS epidemic by increasing the transmission efficiency of the virus.Entities:
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Year: 1989 PMID: 2472639 PMCID: PMC297578 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.86.13.5163
Source DB: PubMed Journal: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A ISSN: 0027-8424 Impact factor: 11.205