T CELL ACTIVATION IN HIV 1 REVERSE TRANSCRIPTION/INTEGRA

State University Of New York At Buffalo, Buffalo NY

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

DESCRIPTION: (Adapted from investigator's abstract) In this proposal, a young investigator wishes to study if proteins involved in T cell activation might be used in the HIV-1 reverse transcription. To facilitate her studies, she has obtained preliminary data demonstrating that T cell proteins bind to biotinylated HIV-1 single stranded DNA and RNA constructs using a non-radioactive adaptation of the electrophoretic mobility shift assay. Using this technique, the investigator proposes to investigate the interaction of HIV-1 reverse transcription intermediates with T cell proteins to test the hypothesis that early and efficient reverse transcription of HIV-1 ssDNA intermediates may assist HIV-1 in the infection process by providing a binding site for host cell proteins involved in pre-integration or integration events. Towards this goal, the investigator proposes the following Specific Aims: Specific Aim 1: To delineate the specific sites on HIV-1 RNA, single stranded DNA, RNA DNA hybrid constructs interacting with T cell proteins. Specific Aim 2: To investigate interactions between HIV-1 reverse transcription intermediates and the HIV-1 integrase protein