Transcriptional regulation of HIV-1 gene expression by p53

Several reports have pointed to the negative involvement of p53 in transcriptional regulation of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 long terminal repeat (HIV-1 LTR). However, the mechanisms of this negative effect remain unclear. In here, we showed that overexpression of p53 wild type prevented the phosphorylation of serine 2 in the carboxyl terminal domain (CTD) of RNA polymerase II. As a result of this inhibition, p53 stalled transcriptional elongation on the HIV-1 LTR leading to a significant reduction of HIV-1 replication in primary microglia and astrocytes. However, despite the delay/pause caused by p53, viral transcription and replication decreased and then salvaged. These studies suggest that the negative effect of p53 is alleviated by a third factor. In this regard, our Preliminary Data point to the involvement of the Pirh2 protein in p53 inhibition. Therefore, we suggest that p53 may be a novel therapeutic target for the inhibition of HIV-1 gene expression and replication and the treatment of AIDS.