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Expression of the pX Gene of HTLV-I: General Splicing Mechanism in the HTLV Family

1985; American Association for the Advancement of Science; Volume: 228; Issue: 4707 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1126/science.2990031

1095-9203

Motoharu Seiki, Atsuko Hikikoshi, Tadatsugu Taniguchi, Mitsuaki Yoshida,

Vector-Borne Animal Diseases

Human T-cell leukemia virus type I (HTLV-I) is an etiological agent of adult T-cell leukemia. A viral gene pX encodes for p40X and it has been proposed that this protein trans-activates the viral long terminal repeat and possibly some cellular genes; this activation may be associated with T-cell transformation. The mechanism of pX gene expression and the primary structure of p40X are now reported. Two-step splicing generates the 2.1-kilobase pX mRNA; the initiator methionine for env becomes part of the pX protein. These splicing signals are conserved among all members of the HTLV family except for the acquired immune deficiency syndrome-associated viruses.