DIFFERENTIAL EXPRESSION OF CYTOKINE GENES IN HIV-1 TAT TRANSFECTED T-CELL AND B-CELL LINES

Cytokine responses are dramatically affected when HIV-1 infected cells are activated with certain antigenic stimuli. We report the effects o f HIV-1 rat gene in cytokine modulation, using HIV-1 tar transfected T (Jurkat) and B (Raji) cell lines. Studying the effect of rat and/or P MA+PHA on mRNA expression of 14 cytokines (IL-1 alpha, IL-2, IL-4, IL- 5, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-12, TNF-alpha, TNF-beta, GM-CSF, TGF-beta, IF N-gamma and MIP-1 alpha) illustrated differential effects. In addition to the varied effects of tar on the steady state levels of cytokine m RNAs, tat induced the secretion of TNF-beta preferentially in both B a nd T cell lines, either by itself as in Raji B cell line or synergisti cally upon PMA+PHA stimulation as in Jurkat T cell line. (C) 1995 Acad emic Press, Inc.