Effect of Xanthium Strumarium on HIV-1 5′-LTR Transcriptional Activity and Viral Reactivation in Latently Infected Cells

Chao Jung Chen, Mu Lin Chiu, Chien Hui Hung, Wen Miin Liang, Mao Wang Ho, Ting Hsu Lin, Xiang Liu, Hsinyi Tsang, Chiu Chu Liao, Shao Mei Huang, Yi Fang Wu, Yang Chang Wu, Te Mao Li, Fuu Jen Tsai*, Ying Ju Lin*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal Article peer-review

3 Scopus citations

Abstract

Chinese herbal medicines (CHMs) are widely used in Asian countries. They show multiple pharmacological activities, including antiviral activities. The 5′-long terminal repeat (LTR) region of HIV-1, required for viral transcription, is a potential drug target for HIV-1 reactivation and intrinsic cell death induction of infected or latently infected cells. Modulation of HIV-1 reactivation requires interactions between host cell proteins and viral 5′-LTR elements. By evaluation of two CHMs- Xanthium strumarium and Pueraria montana, we found that 1) X. strumarium reactivated HIV-1 latently infected cells in J-Lat 8.4, J-Lat 9.2, U1, and ACH-2 cells in vitro; 2) 27 nuclear regulatory proteins were associated with HIV-1 5′-LTR using deoxyribonucleic acid affinity pull-down and LC-MS/MS analyses; and 3) among them, silencing of XRCC6 reactivated HIV-1 5′-LTR transcriptional activity. We found that X. strumarium inhibits the 5′-LTR associated XRCC6 nuclear regulatory proteins, increases its viral 5′-LTR promoter transcriptional activity, and reactivates HIV-1 latently infected cells in vitro. These findings may contribute to understanding the 5′-LTR activity and the host cell nuclear regulatory protein machinery for reactivating HIV-1 and for future investigations to eradicate and cure HIV-1 infection.

Original languageEnglish
Article number720821
JournalFrontiers in Pharmacology
Volume12
DOIs
StatePublished - 06 08 2021

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© Copyright © 2021 Chen, Chiu, Hung, Liang, Ho, Lin, Liu, Tsang, Liao, Huang, Wu, Wu, Li, Tsai and Lin.

Keywords

  • 5′-long terminal repeat
  • Chinese herbal medicine
  • X. strumarium
  • human immunodeficiency virus type 1 latency
  • nuclear regulatory proteins

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Effect of Xanthium Strumarium on HIV-1 5′-LTR Transcriptional Activity and Viral Reactivation in Latently Infected Cells'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this