Biomedical subjects

N Yahi

Publications and source records attributed to N Yahi.

58 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

PubMedDate not supplied

Human T-lymphoblastoid cells selected for growth in serum-free medium provide new tools for study of HIV replication and cytopathogenicity.

Human T-lymphoblastoid cells H9, CEM and CEM-clone 5 were selected for growth in RPMI 1640 supplemented with transferrin 5 micrograms/ml, insulin 5 micrograms/ml and sodium selenite 5 ng/ml. After 40 days of adaptation to serum-free medium, these cells displayed growth, morphology, and expression of CD4 similar to serum-supplemented cultures. Infection of these cells with two strains of HIV-1 (LAV and NDK) and a strain of HIV-2 (ROD) was as efficient in serum-free as in serum-supplemented medium as demonstrated by reverse transcriptase activity in the culture supernatants of infected cells. Furthermore, HIV-induced cytopathogenicity was observed in serum-free cultures, demonstrating that both HIV infection and cytopathic effect did not require the presence of serum components. Electron microscopy showed that mature viral particles were produced from infected cells cultured in serum-free medium. Finally, the ability of monoclonal antibody OKT4 A to inhibit infection by HIV-1 LAV but not by HIV-1 NDK was the same with and without serum in the culture medium, demonstrating that both CD4-dependent and CD4-independent infections can occur in the total absence of serum. Human T-lymphoblastoid cells adapted for growth in serum-free medium provide therefore a complementary tool for the study of HIV infection and cytopathogenicity under defined conditions.

CD4 Antigens↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Inhibition of HIV by an anti-HIV protease synthetic peptide blocks an early step of viral replication.

The processing of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) gag and gag-pol precursor proteins by the virus-encoded protease is an essential step in maturation of infectious virus particles. Like most retroviral proteases, the HIV protease belongs to the aspartyl-protease family and can be inhibited by specific inhibitors. Twenty-four synthetic peptides known to be inhibitors of human renin were tested for inhibition of HIV replication in tissue cultures. One of them, a synthetic peptide analogue, SR41476, which has been shown to be a specific inhibitor of purified recombinant HIV1 protease in vitro, totally blocked infection with different isolates including the HIV1 LAV prototype, the highly cytopathic Zairian isolate HIV1 NDK, and HIV2 ROD, both in primary blood lymphocytes (PBL) and in the lymphoid cell lines MT4 and CEM, for at least 3 weeks. It also significantly reduced virus replication in chronically infected CEM cells, without any effect on cell proliferation. Radioimmunoprecipitation assay revealed that the inhibitor blocked processing of polyprotein precursors p55 gag and p40 gag into a mature form of gag proteins, p25 and p18. Synthetic peptide analogue SR 41476, when added before infection, efficiently inhibited formation of HIV DNA provirus and successfully suppressed synthesis of HIV-specific proteins. These results imply that the HIV protease inhibitor not only inhibited virus maturation in the late phase of the HIV replication cycle, but also interfered in the early phase, before the provirus was formed. This mechanism of antiviral activity provides new possibilities and strategies for AIDS chemotherapy.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Role of glycosphingolipid microdomains in CD4-dependent HIV-1 fusion.

The fusion of HIV-1 with the plasma membrane of CD4+ cells is triggered by the interaction of HIV-1 surface envelope glycoprotein gp120 with the CD4 receptor, and requires coreceptors (CCR5 and CXCR4). Recent advances in the study of HIV-1 entry into CD4+ cells suggest that glycosphingolipids (GSL) may also participate in the fusion process. GSL are organized in functional microdomains which are associated with specific membrane proteins such as CD4. GSL-enriched microdomains were purified from human lymphocytes and reconstituted as a monomolecular film at the air-water interface of a Langmuir film balance. Surface pressure measurements allowed to characterize the sequential interaction of GSL with CD4 and with gp120. Using this approach, we identified globotriaosylceramide (Gb3) and ganglioside GM3 as the main lymphocyte GSL recognized by gp120. In both cases, the interaction was saturable and dramatically increased by CD4. We propose that GSL microdomains behave as moving platforms allowing the recruitment of HIV-1 coreceptors after the initial interaction between the viral particle and CD4. According to this model, the GSL microdomain may: i) stabilize the attachment of the virus with the cell surface through multiple low affinity interactions between the V3 domain of gp120 and the carbohydrate moiety of GSL, and ii) convey the virus to an appropriate coreceptor by moving freely in the outer leaflet of the plasma membrane. This model can be extrapolated to all envelope viruses (e.g. influenza virus) that use cell surface GSL of the host cells as receptors or coreceptors.

CD4 Antigens↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Glycosphingolipid (GSL) microdomains as attachment platforms for host pathogens and their toxins on intestinal epithelial cells: activation of signal transduction pathways and perturbations of intestinal absorption and secretion.

Glycosphingolipid (GSL)-enriched microdomains are used as cellular binding sites for various pathogens including viruses and bacteria. These attachment platforms are specifically associated with transducer molecules, so that the binding of host pathogens (or their toxins) to the cell surface may result in the activation of signal transduction pathways. In the intestinal epithelium, such pathogen-induced dysregulations of signal transduction can elicit a severe impairment of enterocytic functions. In this study, we demonstrate that the interaction of a bacterial toxin (cholera toxin) and a viral envelope glycoprotein (HIV-1 gp120) with the apical plasma membrane of intestinal cells is mediated by GSL-enriched microdomains that are associated with G regulatory proteins. These microbial proteins induce a GSL-dependent increase of intestinal fluid secretion by two mechanisms: activation of chloride secretion and inhibition of Na+ -dependent glucose absorption. Taken together, these data support the view that GSL-enriched microdomains in the apical plasma membrane of enterocytes are involved in the regulation of intestinal functions.

Calcium↗