INHIBITION OF HUMAN-IMMUNODEFICIENCY-VIRUS TYPE-1 REPLICATION IS ENHANCED BY A COMBINATION OF TRANSDOMINANT TAT AND REV PROTEINS

Mutation of either of two critical human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) regulatory proteins, Tat and Rev, results in marked defects i n viral replication. Thus, inhibition of the function of one or both o f these proteins can significantly inhibit viral growth. In the presen t study, we constructed a novel transdominant Tat mutant protein and c ompared its efficiency in inhibiting HIV-1 replication with that of tr ansdominant mutant Rev M10 when these proteins were stably expressed e ither alone or in combination in T-lymphocyte cell lines. The transdom inant Tat mutant protein alone resulted in a modest inhibition of HIV replication, but it was able to enhance the ability of the M10 Rev mut ant protein to inhibit HIV-1 replication. These results suggest a poss ible synergistic effect of these transdominant mutant proteins in inhi biting HIV-1 replication.