Molecular Virology Section, Laboratory of Molecular Microbiology, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892-0460, USA. jiahai@yahoo.com
The effect of cGMP (cyclic GMP) dependent protein kinase 1-beta (PKG1-beta) and cGMP analogues on transcriptional activity and replication of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) was investigated. Transfection of PKG1beta expression plasmid increased expression from an HIV-1 LTR-reporter as well as from an infectious HIV-1 molecular clone, pNL4-3. Treatment of HIV-1 AD8-infected monocyte derived macrophages (MDMs) with cGMP agonists and cGMP antagonists caused respectively increased and decreased virus replication. These findings provide evidence that cGMP and PKG serve to regulate HIV-1 infection in human cells.