Frezza D, Santini SM, Migliacco E, Bach S, Boncinelli E, Colizzi V; International Conference on AIDS.
Int Conf AIDS. 1991 Jun 16-21; 7: 132 (abstract no. M.A.1160).
Dipartimento di Biologia, II Universiti di Roma, "Tor Vergata", Rome, Italy
The aim of this project is to investigate the involvement of human homeogenes in T lymphocyte differentiation and whether HIV infection could modify their expression causing functional alterations. Homeotic genes were originally defined as genes controlling embryonic development in Drosophila. Homologous sequences were isolated in vertebrates (38 in man in 4 different clusters) and have been shown to be expressed with temporal and positional specificity during embryogenesis, in differentiating neuroblastoma and teratocarcinoma cell lines induced by retinoic acid. Six T-cell lines and two chronically HIV-infected cell lines (H9, U937) were analyzed for expression of homeogenes by Northern blot analysis using a panel of 38 homeogene probes. Phenotype characterization by flow cytometry of the CD3, CD4, CD8, TCR omega beta and omega delta expression allowed us to define the various stages of differentiation in T-cell lines. The data obtained from the leukemic cell lines, in particular from CEM, H9 and the chronically HIV-infected H9 suggest a specific and highly regulated activation pattern different from the other non T-cell lines. The CEM, H9 and HIV-infected H9 show a progression in the activation of homeogenes. We suppose that these differences could be representative for various stages of differentiation of the cell lines so far analyzed. Further studies of leukemic T-cell lines, still in progress, seem to confirm this hypothesis. The altered expression pattern observed in chronically infected H9 could be considered as HIV influence on cellular gene expression or could represent a selection of previously altered clones resistant to viral cytolytic effects. Analysis of the expression of homeogenes in normal non-infected and infected T-cells and thymocytes shall verify one of these two possibilities.
Publication Types:
Keywords:
- AIDS Vaccines
- Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome
- Animals
- Antigens, CD4
- Antigens, CD8
- Cell Line
- Clone Cells
- Female
- Flow Cytometry
- Gene Expression
- HIV Infections
- HIV Seropositivity
- Humans
- Male
- Pregnancy
- Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell
- T-Lymphocytes
- genetics
- immunology
Other ID:
UI: 102182723
From Meeting Abstracts