Abundant synthesis of functional human T-cell leukemia virus type I p40x protein in eucaryotic cells by using a baculovirus expression vector.

The human T-cell leukemia virus type I (HTLV-I) p40x protein is a 40-kilodalton polypeptide encoded in the 3'-terminal region of the virus. This protein is responsible for positive transcriptional trans-activation of promoter elements located within the HTLV-I long terminal repeat. We introduced the protein-coding region of HTLV-I p40x into the genome of the baculovirus Autographa californica nuclear polyhedrosis virus. After infection of the insect Spodoptera frugiperda (SF9) cell line, this recombinant strain of baculovirus produced approximately 200 mg of intact p40x protein per 2.5 X 10(8) cells. The protein was biologically active in trans-activation of an HTLV-I long terminal repeat-human beta-globin construct. Biochemical analyses of the protein suggest that the p40x polypeptide underwent posttranslational modification in these eucaryotic SF9 cells.