Polarized expression of the membrane ASP protein derived from HIV-1 antisense transcription in T cells

Isabelle Clerc (1, 2) , Sylvain Laverdure (2) , Cynthia Torresilla (3) , Sébastien Landry (3) , Sophie Borel (2) , Amandine Vargas (3) , Charlotte Arpin-André (2) , Bernard Gay (2) , Laurence Briant (2) , Antoine Gross (1, 2) , Benoit Barbeau (3) , Jean-Michel Mesnard (2)

1 IRIM - Institut de Recherche en Infectiologie de Montpellier
2 CPBS - Centre d’études d’Agents Pathogènes et Biotechologies pour la Santé
3 Département des Sciences Biologiques [Montréal]

Retroviral gene expression generally depends on a full-length transcript that initiates in the 5' LTR, which is either left unspliced or alternatively spliced. We and others have demonstrated the existence of antisense transcription initiating in the 3' LTR in human lymphotropic retroviruses, including HTLV-1, HTLV-2, and HIV-1. Such transcripts have been postulated to encode antisense proteins important for the establishment of viral infections. The antisense strand of the HIV-1 proviral DNA contains an ORF termed asp, coding for a highly hydrophobic protein. However, although anti-ASP antibodies have been described to be present in HIV-1-infected patients, its in vivo expression requires further support. The objective of this present study was to clearly demonstrate that ASP is effectively expressed in infected T cells and to provide a better characterization of its subcellular localization.

Domaines: Maladies infectieuses

Isabelle Clerc, Sylvain Laverdure, Cynthia Torresilla, Sébastien Landry, Sophie Borel, et al.. Polarized expression of the membrane ASP protein derived from HIV-1 antisense transcription in T cells. Retrovirology, 2011, 8 (1), pp.74. ⟨10.1186/1742-4690-8-74⟩. ⟨hal-02146256⟩