Bibollet-Ruche F., Cuny Gérard, Pourrut Xavier, Brengues Cécile, Galat-Luong Anh, Galat Gérard, Delaporte Eric. (1998). Multiple spliced env and nef transcripts of simian immunodeficiency virus from West African green monkey (SIVagm-sab). AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses, 14 (6), p. 515-519. ISSN 0889-2229.
Titre du document
Multiple spliced env and nef transcripts of simian immunodeficiency virus from West African green monkey (SIVagm-sab)
AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses, 1998,
14 (6), p. 515-519 ISSN 0889-2229
We have characterized the spliced transcripts of nef and envelope genes of SIVagm from African green monkey of the sabaeus subspecies. Most of the transcripts we have studied, representing the most abundant mRNA species in our assay, have undergone a specific splicing event that removes a part of the trans-activation response (TAR) element. This region is predicted to form a stable secondary structure (four stem-loop elements in SIVagm-sab) that affects the trans-activation of viral gene expression by Tat and the translation of the viral transcripts. Contrary to what is observed in other viruses, in which this R-region splicing has also been described (e.g. , HIV-2), the LTR splicing in SIVagm-sab removes part of the first stem-loop and the following ones, nearly completely disrupting the TAR element secondary structure. Because LTR splicing seems to be a conserved feature among the strains we have characterized, these results suggest that this phenomenon could have important consequences for virus replication, pathogenicity, and latency. (Résumé d'auteur)
