Transcription from HIV-1 proviral DNA is a rate-determining step for HIV-1 replication. Interaction between the cyclin T1 (CycT1) subunit of positive transcription elongation factor b (P-TEFb) and the Tat transactivator protein of HIV-1 is crucial for viral transcription. CycT1 also interacts directly with the transactivation-responsive element (TAR) located on the 5'end of viral mRNA, as well ...

MOTIVATION Computational prediction of signal peptides is of great importance in computational biology. In addition to the general secretory pathway (Sec), Bacteria, Archaea and chloroplasts possess another major pathway that utilizes the Twin-Arginine translocase (Tat), which recognizes longer and less hydrophobic signal peptides carrying a distinctive pattern of two consecutive Arginines (RR)...

Lipid-based nanoparticles (NPs) with a small amount of surface-chelated nickel (Ni-NPs) were developed to easily formulate the HIV his-tagged Tat protein, as well as to formulate and co-deliver two HIV antigens (his-p24 and his-Nef) on one particle. Female BALB/c mice were immunized by s.c. injection with his-Tat/Ni-NP formulation (1.5 μg Tat-his/mouse) and control formulations on day 0 and 14....

In this study, we applied molecular dynamics (MD) simulation to analyze the dynamic behavior of the Tat/CycT1/CDK9 tri-molecular complex and revealed the structural changes of P-TEFb upon Tat binding. We found that Tat could deliberately change the local flexibility of CycT1. Although the structural coordinates of the H1 and H2 helices did not substantially change, H1', H2', and H3' exhibited s...

HIV-1 Tat is able to form a ternary complex with P/CAF and p300 and increase the affinity for CDK9/P-TEFb CTD kinase complex. Our previous study demonstrated that Tat binds to p300/CBP in the minimal HAT domain (aa 1253-1790) and that the interaction results in a change of conformation on p300/CBP. Here, we show that the Tat-p300 interaction increases the HAT activity of p300 on histone H4 that...

The development of non-invasive ocular drug delivery systems is of practical importance in the treatment of retinal disease. In this study, we evaluated the efficacy of transactivator of transcription protein transduction domain (TAT-PTD, TAT(49-57)) as a vehicle to deliver acidic FGF (aFGF) to retina in rats. TAT-conjugated aFGF-His (TAT-aFGF-His) exhibited efficient penetration into the retin...

Although dendritic cells (DC) have been well demonstrated as a strong cellular adjuvant for a tumor vaccine, there are several limitations for clinical application. A protein-based vaccine using a potent adjuvant is an appealing approach for tumor antigen-specific immunotherapy because of their simplicity, safety, efficacy and capacity for repeated administration. CpG-oligodeoxynucleotides (ODN...

Interleukin-24 (IL-24) is a cytokine belonging to the IL-10 gene family. This cytokine selectively induces apoptosis in cancer cells, without harming normal cells, through a mechanism involving endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress response. TAT-IL-24-KDEL is a fusion protein that efficiently enters the tumor cells and locates in the ER. Here we report that TAT-IL-24-KDEL induced apoptosis in human...

We studied the combined effects of Tat and general trans-activators, such as E1A and phorbol esters, on human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) gene expression. Interaction between these two types of trans-activators may be involved in the transition from transcriptional quiesence during viral latency to active gene expression during productive infection. E1A cooperated with Tat to produce a fou...

INTRODUCTION Timeliness of laboratory results is crucial to patient care and outcome. Monitoring turnaround times (TAT), especially for emergency tests, is important to measure the effectiveness and efficiency of laboratory services. Laboratory-based clinical audits reveal opportunities for improving quality. Our aim was to identify the most critical steps causing a high TAT for cerebrospinal f...