ABSTRACT
HIV-associated dementia (HAD) is not firmly established in patients with circulating recombinant form (CRF) 01_AE HIV-1. In this study, we compared neuropsychological performance among 15 Thai individuals with HAD, 15 Thai individuals without HAD, and 30 HIV-negative control subjects. HIV-1 participants were highly active anti-retroviral therapy naive and matched by age, education, and CD4 count. Neuropsychological testing abnormalities were identified in most cognitive domains among HAD vs HIV-negative participants, confirming the presence of HAD in CRF01_AE.
Subject(s)
AIDS Dementia Complex/virology , HIV-1/classification , HIV-1/genetics , Mental Disorders/virology , Nervous System Diseases/virology , Recombination, Genetic , AIDS Dementia Complex/blood , AIDS Dementia Complex/psychology , Adult , Cognition , Cohort Studies , Female , Humans , Male , Neuropsychological Tests , Severity of Illness IndexABSTRACT
Several major mRNA species of mouse and other mammalian cells occur both as small untranslated ribonucleoprotein particles and as functional molecules associated with ribosomes in polysomes. One of these, that codes for a 21-kDa polypeptide, was analyzed with respect to distribution of sites accessible to RNase T1 in the 5'-noncoding region. This region, which is about 100 nucleotides long, contains several sites that are highly sensitive to the enzyme, as well as many G residues not susceptible to cleavage. The distribution of highly sensitive sites was compared in the active and inactive states of the P21 mRNA present in cytoplasmic extracts by subjecting the extract to limited nuclease digestion followed by separation of partially fragmented polysomes from free messenger ribonucleoprotein particles. The mRNA in polysomes contained two highly sensitive sites, one near the 5' terminus and the other in the middle of the region, next to a sequence potentially capable of Shine-Dalgarno interaction. The untranslated molecules lacked the 5'-proximal site but had several highly accessible sites not present in the active molecules. The initiation AUG showed little accessibility both in polysomes and in messenger ribonucleoproteins. Both forms were quite different from the deproteinized mRNA with respect to distribution of nuclease-sensitive sites. Our results indicate that interaction of the mRNA with cytoplasmic factors strongly affects its conformation in the 5'-noncoding region and that a particular conformation may be important for effective interaction with ribosomal particles during polypeptide chain initiation.
Subject(s)
Polyribosomes/metabolism , Protein Biosynthesis , RNA, Messenger/genetics , Animals , Mice , Nucleic Acid Conformation , RNA, Messenger/isolation & purification , RNA, Neoplasm/genetics , RNA, Neoplasm/isolation & purification , Ribonuclease T1 , Ribonuclease, Pancreatic , Ribonucleoproteins/metabolism , Sarcoma 180/metabolismABSTRACT
The synthesis of rat liver protein and RNA decreases with starvation. It is not yet known whether such decreases are regulated strictly at a transcriptional level, or if post-transcriptional controls are also involved. In this study we investigate the effects of 0, 2, or 4 days starvation on the levels of specific, abundant mRNAs in total and polysomal RNA populations. The mRNAs were analyzed by translation in vitro in mRNA-dependent, cell-free, protein synthesizing systems. The resulting polypeptide products were separated by gel electrophoresis and visualized with fluorography. The amount of albumin translated from both polysomal and total cellular mRNA decreased 20-40% with fasting. In contrast, a specific peptide having a molecular mass of approximately 30 kDa increased two- to three-fold in total cellular RNA with a smaller increase observed in polysomal RNA. These changes were maximal at 2 days of starvation. Since starvation is known to cause alterations in liver metabolism the 30-kDa polypeptide may be related to enzymes or other proteins involved in this homeostatic response.
