The world's first wiki where authorship really matters (Nature Genetics, 2008). Due credit and reputation for authors. Imagine a global collaborative knowledge base for original thoughts. Search thousands of articles and collaborate with scientists around the globe.

wikigene or wiki gene protein drug chemical gene disease author authorship tracking collaborative publishing evolutionary knowledge reputation system wiki2.0 global collaboration genes proteins drugs chemicals diseases compound
Hoffmann, R. A wiki for the life sciences where authorship matters. Nature Genetics (2008)
 
 
 

HIV-1 viral envelope glycoprotein gp120 triggers an inflammatory response in cultured rat astrocytes and regulates the functional expression of P-glycoprotein.

In this work, we examined the ability of gp120, a human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) viral envelope glycoprotein, to trigger the innate immune response in astrocytes, an HIV-1 brain cellular target, and we investigated the functional expression of the ATP-binding cassette membrane transporter P-glycoprotein (P-gp) in primary cultures of rat astrocytes treated with gp120 or cytokines [tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta), and IL-6]. Standard 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium and d-mannitol uptake assays confirmed that HIV-1(96ZM651) gp120 treatment did not alter cell viability or membrane permeability. Semiquantitative reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction analysis and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay demonstrated increased TNF-alpha, IL-1beta, and IL-6 mRNA and protein expression in cultures treated with HIV-1(96ZM651) gp120, suggesting in vitro activation of immune responses. Cytokine secretion was detected when CXCR4 but not CCR5 was inhibited with a specific antibody, implying that cytokine secretion is primarily mediated via CCR5 in astrocytes triggered with HIV-1(96ZM651) gp120. P-gp protein expression was increased in astrocyte cultures exposed to TNF-alpha (2.9-fold) or IL-1beta (1.6-fold) but was decreased profoundly in the presence of IL-6 (8.9-fold), suggesting that IL-6 is primarily involved in modulating P-gp expression. In parallel, after HIV-1(96ZM651) gp120 treatment, immunoblotting analysis showed a significant decrease in P-gp expression (4.7-fold). Furthermore, the accumulation of two P-gp substrates, digoxin and saquinavir (an HIV-1 protease inhibitor), was enhanced (1.5- to 1.8-fold) in HIV-1(96ZM651) gp120-treated astrocyte monolayers but was not altered by P-gp inhibitors [e.g., valspodar (PSC833) and elacridar (GF120918)], suggesting a loss of transport activity. Taken together, these data imply that HIV-1(96ZM651) gp120 or cytokine treatment modulate P-gp functional expression in astrocytes, which may lead to complex drug-transporter interactions during HIV-1 encephalitis-associated immune responses.[1]

References

 
WikiGenes - Universities