Authors: M Saunders M B Eldeen L Del Valle K Reiss F Peruzzi G Mameli B B Gelman K Khalili S Amini B E Sawaya
Publish Date: 2005/10/20
Volume: 10, Issue: 6, Pages: 1419-1431
Abstract
HIV1 Tat is a potent transcriptional activator of the viral promoter with the ability to modulate a number of cellular regulatory circuits including apoptosis Tat exerts its effects through interaction with viral as well as cellular proteins Here we studied the influence of p73 a protein that is implicated in apoptosis and cell cycle control on Tat apoptotic function in the central nervous system We recently demonstrated the ability of Tat to associate with p73 and that this association modulates Tat transcriptional activity Amini et al Mol Cell Biol 2005 18 8126–8138 We demonstrated that p73 interferes with Tatmediated apoptosis by preventing the upregulation of Bax and downregulation of Bcl2 proteins in astrocytes Thus the interplay between Tat and p73 may affect Tat contribution to apoptotic events in the brain limiting its involvement in the neuropathology often observed in the brains of HIV1 patients
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