Document 0802
 DOCN  M94B0802
 TI    Ribozyme targeting of HIV-1 LTR.
 DT    9412
 AU    Ventura M; Wang P; Franck N; Saragosti S; ICGM, INSERM U 363, Universite
       Paris V, Hospital Cochin, Paris,; France.
 SO    Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 1994 Sep 15;203(2):889-98. Unique Identifier
       : AIDSLINE MED/94380073
 AB    The 5'-TAR region of HIV-1 mRNA is highly conserved amongst different
       HIV-1 isolates. We thus investigated the potential for in vivo targeting
       of the TAR RNA element by a hammerhead ribozyme. The use of the CAT
       reporter gene linked to the HIV1-LTR, in transient assays, reveals that
       a hammerhead ribozyme directed towards the first GUC of HIV-1 mRNA can
       efficiently inhibit CAT protein expression. We show that this inhibition
       is sequence-specific and probably due to a cleavage activity rather than
       an antisense effect. We show also that a hammerhead ribozyme that is
       inactive in vitro is capable of inhibiting CAT protein expression in a
       cellular environment. These results suggest that the targeting of the
       HIV-1 LTR by a hammerhead ribozyme constitutes a viable approach for
       anti-HIV therapy.
 DE    Base Sequence  Cell Line  Chloramphenicol Acetyltransferase/GENETICS
       Gene Expression  Gene Products, tat/GENETICS/PHARMACOLOGY  Genes,
       Reporter  HIV Long Terminal Repeat/*GENETICS  HIV-1/*GENETICS  Molecular
       Sequence Data  Plasmids  RNA, Catalytic/ANTAGONISTS &
       INHIB/CHEMISTRY/*METABOLISM  RNA, Messenger/METABOLISM  Transfection
       JOURNAL ARTICLE

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