INHIBITION OF HIV-1 BY A DOUBLE TRANSDOMINANT FUSION GENE

A double transdominant fusion gene (trev) designed to inhibit two esse ntial HIV functions simultaneously was constructed by linking tar and rev transdominant mutants. Trev independently inhibited both Tai and R ev functions, localized within the nucleus and cells transfected with trev showed a stable inhibition of HIV-1-mediated cytopathicity. A ret roviral vector of trev was made and shown also to confer protection fr om HIV cytopathic effects. Simultaneous inhibition of two essential vi ral genes presents significant advantages for potential gene therapy t reatment of HIV infection over conventional single effect molecules.