tailieunhanh - Báo cáo y học: "HIV-1 Tat, apoptosis and the mitochondria: a tubulin link?"

Tuyển tập các báo cáo nghiên cứu về y học được đăng trên tạp chí y học quốc tế cung cấp cho các bạn kiến thức về ngành y đề tài: HIV-1 Tat, apoptosis and the mitochondria: a tubulin link? | Retrovirology BioMed Central Commentary HIV-1 Tat apoptosis and the mitochondria a tubulin link Mauro Giacca Open Access Address Molecular Medicine Laboratory International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology ICGEB Trieste Italy Email Mauro Giacca - giacca@ Corresponding author Published 07 February 2005 Received 03 February 2005 Accepted 07 February 2005 Retrovirology 2005 2 7 doi 1742-4690-2-7 This article is available from http content 2 1 7 2005 Giacca licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License http licenses by which permits unrestricted use distribution and reproduction in any medium provided the original work is properly cited. Abstract The Tat protein of HIV-I is a powerful activator of viral gene expression. Besides this essential function at the HIV-1 promoter the protein also exerts a remarkable number of other biological activities among which the induction of cellular apoptosis. Two papers now published in Retrovirology provide possible molecular mechanisms for the pro-apoptotic effect of Tat which involve the cell s microtubular network and the mitochondrial pathway of apoptosis. Although more than 20 years have passed since the identification of HIV as the cause of AIDS several essential questions about its pathogenicity remain as yet unanswered. In particular a central still unresolved issue is the mechanism underlying the progressive development of immunodeficiency. It is now well established that HIV infection determines a rapid turnover of infected CD4 cells 1 2 consistent with this finding multiple molecular pathways triggered by different HIV proteins are known to lead to cell apoptosis 3 4 . However the capacity of the immune system to regenerate its cells by far exceeds the number of dying HIV infected cells. Thus the extension of the apoptotic message to neighboring bystander .