Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 Tat induces apoptosis and increases sensitivity to apoptotic signals by up-regulating FLICE/caspase-8.

Apoptosis contributes to the loss of CD4 cells during human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection. Although the product of the env gene, gp160/gp120, is known to play a role in cell death mediated by HIV-1, the role of other HIV-1 genes in the process is unclear. We found that HIV-1 lacking the env gene (HIVDeltaenv) still induced apoptosis in T-cell lines and primary CD4 T cells. The ability to induce apoptosis was attributable to Tat, a viral regulatory protein. Tat induction of apoptosis was separate from the transactivation function of Tat, required expression of the second exon of Tat, and was associated with the increased expression and activity of caspase-8 (casp-8), a signaling molecule in apoptotic pathways. Moreover, induction of apoptosis could be prevented by treating cells with an inhibitor of casp-8. In addition, we show that HIV-1Deltaenv infection and Tat expression increased the sensitivity of cells to Fas-mediated apoptosis, an apoptotic pathway that signals via casp-8. The up-regulation of casp-8 by HIV-1 Tat expression may contribute to the increased apoptosis and sensitivity to apoptotic signals observed in the cells of HIV-1-infected persons.