ACTIVATION OF HUMAN-IMMUNODEFICIENCY-VIRUS LONG TERMINAL REPEAT BY ARACHIDONIC-ACID

Arachidonic acid is the precursor of highly reactive mediators, includ ing prostaglandins and leukotrienes, and the most abundant n-6 polyuns aturated fatty acid in mammalian cell membranes. It is released from p hospholipids upon many inflammatory stimuli. In this study, a chloramp henicol acyltransferase reporter gene, under control of the human immu nodeficiency virus-1 long terminal repeat, was strongly induced upon t reating human promonocytes with arachidonic acid. The n-3 fatty acid e icosapentenoic, found in abundance in fish oil, had no effect. HIV-1 l ong terminal repeat activation by arachidonic acid was suppressed by i nhibitors of both lipoxygenase and cyclooxygenase pathways, suggesting that metabolites, rather than arachidonic acid itself, mediated the s timulatory effect. This is the first report linking HIV-1 expression t o the metabolism of arachidonic acid. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Scie nce Inc.