Human chromosome 12 is required for elevated HIV-1 expression in human-hamster hybrid cells

Article Abstract:

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is believed to be responsible for AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) and much research is currently being done to find a cure or treatment for this fatal disease. It is known that human host cells and regulatory genes participate in the replication process of the virus and thus propagate infection. This gene interaction has been investigated using a hybrid clone derived from human and hamster ovarian cells in an effort to better understand the mechanism of the HIV replication process. The identification of human chromosomes involved in the process of HIV gene expression, i.e. the chromosomes that enable the reproduction of this virus, were sought. The human-hamster hybrid clones were infected with the genetic material from HIV and production of the virus outside the cell occurred. In four out of 18 trials, high levels of HIV gene expression in the clone cells were measured directly from extracellular concentrations of virus and the analysis of long terminal repeat gene sequences in the HIV. Chromosome profiles, karyotypes, revealed a match 94 percent of the time between HIV gene expression and the human chromosome 12. When other chromosomes were analyzed, agreement with viral production varied between 11 and 72 percent. It was concluded that human chromosome 12 is involved in the HIV replication mechanism. However, the precise method of involvement is still not understood; it is not known whether this activates a positive control or inactivates a negative control to enable the mechanism of HIV gene expression to take place. Further research with the human-hamster clone cells will be designed to locate this and other chromosomes that may also be involved in the regulation of HIV gene expression.

Methods, HIV (Viruses), HIV, Genetic recombination, AIDS (Disease), Clone cells

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Hyperkalemic periodic paralysis and the adult muscle sodium channel alpha-subunit gene

Article Abstract:

Hyperkalemic periodic paralysis (HYPP, also called Gamstorp's disease or adynamia episodica hereditaria) is a hereditary condition marked by recurrent, temporary muscle weakness and paralysis. Two types of primary periodic paralysis are known: the hyperkalemic form, where blood levels of potassium increase during paralysis, and the hypokalemic form, where they decrease. Ultimately, myopathy (muscle disease) develops, which can be debilitating. In either form, the muscles lose their effectiveness due to depolarization (a change in the muscle cell's electrical charge). The genetic basis for HYPP was explored in a series of experiments that examined linkage between the disorder and the gene that codes for one component of the sodium channel (which helps regulate the ionic concentrations in the cell and, hence, its electrical charge) in muscle. Evidence from earlier work suggested that this channel is abnormal in one form of HYPP. The gene for the alpha subunit of the muscle sodium channel was cloned and found to lie near the locus for human growth hormone on chromosome 17. Linkage analysis using material from a large HYPP family indicated that this site (including both genes) was, indeed, linked to the genetic defect. Future studies should attempt to identify the genetic abnormality responsible for HYPP. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Genetic disorders, Muscle diseases, Muscular diseases, Sodium channels, Adynamia episodica hereditaria

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