期刊名称：Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
印刷版ISSN：0027-8424
电子版ISSN：1091-6490
出版年度：1992
卷号：89
期号：20
页码：9939-9943
DOI：10.1073/pnas.89.20.9939
语种：English
出版社：The National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
摘要：Viruses that establish persistent infections may show selective and unique effects on the host's transcriptional machinery. Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV), a noncytolytic virus, can persistently infect a rat pituitary cell line. Although the infected cells remain free of structural damage, virus markedly interferes with growth hormone (GH) but only minimally interferes with prolactin transcription. The study of GH promoter-chloramphenicol acetyltransferase-transfected cells and GH promoter deletion mutants demonstrates that the viral effect is at the level of GH promoter and is due to interference with GH transactivator factor GHF1 (Pit1). Treatment of LCMV-infected cells with the antiviral agent ribavirin cures the infection and restores normal GH mRNA levels. These results illustrate a molecular mechanism by which a virus infection can disrupt synthesis of a cell's differentiated product without perturbing vital cellular functions.
