Skip Navigation
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

Use this QR code to view the newest version of this document
Use this QR code to view the newest version of this document

Your Environment. Your Health.

Publication Detail

Title: HIV-TAT protein upregulates expression of multidrug resistance protein 1 in the blood-brain barrier.

Authors: Hayashi, Kentaro; Pu, Hong; Andras, Ibolya E; Eum, Sung Yong; Yamauchi, Atsushi; Hennig, Bernhard; Toborek, Michal

Published In J Cereb Blood Flow Metab, (2006 Aug)

Abstract: Central nervous system (CNS) complications of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection remain a serious health risk in HIV/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome despite significant advances in highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). Specific drugs used for HAART are substrates for the efflux transport systems, such as the multidrug resistance-associated proteins (MRPs), which are present on brain microvascular endothelial cells (BMEC) and astrocytes, that is, the main cell types that form the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Thus, drugs employed in HAART are actively removed from the CNS and do not efficiently inhibit HIV replication in the brain. To study the potential mechanisms of this process, the aim of the present research was to address the hypothesis that HIV Tat protein can contribute to upregulation of MRP expression at the BBB level. Tat is a protein produced and released by HIV-infected cells, which may play an important role in brain vascular pathology in the course of HIV infection. Among the family of MRPs, exposure to Tat specifically induced MRP1 messenger ribonucleic acid and protein expression both in BMEC and astrocytes. These alterations were accompanied by enhanced MRP1-mediated efflux functions. Furthermore, activation of the mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling cascade was identified as the mechanism involved in Tat-mediated overexpression of MRP1. These results indicate that Tat exposure can lead to alterations of the BBB functions and decrease HAART efficacy in the CNS through overexpression of drug efflux transporters.

PubMed ID: 16395283 Exiting the NIEHS site

MeSH Terms: ATP-Binding Cassette, Sub-Family B, Member 1/biosynthesis*; ATP-Binding Cassette, Sub-Family B, Member 1/genetics; Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome/complications; Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome/drug therapy; Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome/genetics; Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome/metabolism*; Animals; Antiretroviral Therapy, Highly Active; Astrocytes/cytology; Astrocytes/metabolism; Astrocytes/virology; Blood-Brain Barrier/metabolism*; Blood-Brain Barrier/virology; Cells, Cultured; Central Nervous System Viral Diseases/drug therapy; Central Nervous System Viral Diseases/etiology; Central Nervous System Viral Diseases/genetics; Central Nervous System Viral Diseases/metabolism*; Endothelial Cells/metabolism; Endothelial Cells/virology; Gene Products, tat/genetics; Gene Products, tat/metabolism*; HIV-1/genetics; HIV-1/metabolism*; Humans; Male; Mice; Protein Biosynthesis/drug effects; Protein Biosynthesis/genetics; RNA, Messenger/biosynthesis; RNA, Messenger/genetics; Up-Regulation*/drug effects; Up-Regulation*/genetics; tat Gene Products, Human Immunodeficiency Virus

Back
to Top