Therapeutic modulation of HIV-1 alternative splicing by small molecules: A novel strategy for AIDS treatment
Jamal Tazi
CNRS, Institut de Génétique Moléculaire de Montpellier (IGMM), Cedex, France.
Abstract: The retroviral life cycle requires that significant amounts of RNA remain unspliced and perform several functions in the cytoplasm. Thus, the full-length RNA serves both the viral genetic material that will be encapsidated in viral particles and the mRNA encoding structural and enzymatic proteins required for viral replication. Simple retroviruses produce one single-spliced env RNA from the full-length precursor RNA, whereas complex retroviruses, like HIV, are characterized by the production of multiple spliced RNA species. My lecture will summarize the current acknowledge about HIV-1 alternative splicing mechanism and will describe how this malleable process can help further understanding of infection, spread and dissemination through splicing regulators. Through generation and optimization of small molecules inhibiting HIV-1 alternative splicing mechanisms, we are developing therapeutic leads, opening the way to new therapeutic solutions for AIDS.
