Efficient incorporation of human CD4 protein into avian leukosis virus particles
Article Abstract:
Retroviruses are viruses that contain enzymes to make DNA from RNA. They are able to incorporate proteins from the viral envelope (Env; the protein coat that surrounds the virus) that appear on the cell surface, while excluding most cell surface proteins that belong to the host. To learn more concerning the ways avian leukosis virus (ALV) takes up Env proteins, experiments using chimeric (engineered) genes were conducted. Two genes, CR and CM, respectively, were made that encoded the CD4 protein (found on human T cells) and sequences of the transmembrane polypeptide chain of ALV or murine leukemia virus. The proteins manufactured by these genes and the ordinary CD4 protein were then evaluated to determine whether they constituted a signal for incorporation of Env proteins into ALV-infected quail cells. Results indicated CD4 proteins that were not part of the chimeric proteins were incorporated best into ALV particles, an unexpected result. This was not anticipated because cell surface proteins, of which CD4 is one, are not usually incorporated into viruses. Such an affinity could have implications for treating viral disease, such as HIV-1 infection (which causes AIDS), if aberrant retroviral copies could be introduced to ''home'' to infected cells, ultimately preventing viral reproduction. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)
Publication Name: Science
Subject: Science and technology
ISSN: 0036-8075
Year: 1990
User Contributions:
Comment about this article or add new information about this topic:
Science and the new administration
Article Abstract:
The scientific community hopes that the Clinton administration will take actions to support basic research, which is vital for advancements in health care, industry and education. Benefits of biomedical research are discussed, and recommendations for its advancement are provided.
Publication Name: Science
Subject: Science and technology
ISSN: 0036-8075
Year: 1993
User Contributions:
Comment about this article or add new information about this topic:
The changing ecology of United States science
Article Abstract:
The social contract formerly supported the policy that all basic science has intrinsic value to society and should be federally supported. This view is no longer valid in the 1990s. A national debate is necessary to formulate a new science policy.
Publication Name: Science
Subject: Science and technology
ISSN: 0036-8075
Year: 1995
User Contributions:
Comment about this article or add new information about this topic:
- Abstracts: Induction of Salmonella stress proteins upon infection of macrophages. T cells against a bacterial heat shock protein recognize stressed macrophages
- Abstracts: Kinetics of the laser-induced photoreduction of U(VI) in aqueous suspensions of TiO2 particles. Products of the gas-phase reactions of NO3 radicals with furan and tetramethylfuran
- Abstracts: Structure and operation of electronic mass media in China. Tendencies towards global communications. Strategic management of telecommunications R&D in Brazil
- Abstracts: The evolution of the periodic system: from its origins some 200 years ago, the periodic table has become a vital tool for modern chemists
- Abstracts: Helping heartache; surgeons blast holes through the heart to relieve chest pain. Lightning lure