Reviving an Old HIV-1 Gene: The HIV-1 Antisense Protein

Title:Reviving an Old HIV-1 Gene: The HIV-1 Antisense Protein

Volume: 13 Issue: 2

Author(s): Cynthia Torresilla, Jean-Michel Mesnard and Benoit Barbeau

Affiliation:

Keywords: Antisense Protein, Antisense transcription, Autophagy, HIV-1.

Abstract: The existence of an HIV-1 protein translated from an antisense transcript was suggested over 25 years ago. However, this Antisense Protein (ASP) gene has still not been completely accepted by the HIV-1 research community. The aim of this review is to discuss recent findings, which suggest that ASP needs to be considered as a viral gene, playing an important role in HIV-1 replication and persistence. In past years, several studies have highlighted the existence of HIV-1 antisense transcripts. More recently, we and others have convincingly demonstrated that this transcript produces a protein with a unique distribution and a rapid turnover, when expressed in mammalian cells. Furthermore, a role in autophagy and HIV-1 replication has been associated with this protein. In light of these recent reports, we believe that ASP needs to be added to the schematic representation of the HIV-1 proviral DNA and requires further investigation, as it could represent a new potential target for anti-retroviral therapies and vaccine strategies.

Cite this article as:

Torresilla Cynthia, Mesnard Jean-Michel and Barbeau Benoit, Reviving an Old HIV-1 Gene: The HIV-1 Antisense Protein, Current HIV Research 2015; 13 (2) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/1570162X12666141202125943