Down regulation of human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1) expression by Vif antisense RNA expression vectors in transfected cells

The HIV-1 vif gene is a potential candidate in the quest for anti-retroviral interventions, due to its unique role in the target cell infection. We employed the antisense RNA strategy to determine the antiviral activity of intracellular ly expressed anti-sense RNAs of various lengths complementary to the targeted HIV-1 vif gene. Expression vectors mediating the delivery of the wf-ORF, 5'-17/, M-vif, and Z'-vif antisense RNAs under the CMV promoter were constructed using pcDNA 3.1. The COS cells transfected with the antisense vectors showed a steadystate of antisense RNA expression levels. In contrast, those co-transfected with the infectious molecular clone, pNL-E, exhibited a significant reduction in the steady-state antisense RNA levels, which correlated with a significant reduction in p24 antigen production. Thus, this epression method for these antisense RNAs provides a promising gene therapy strategy for HIV-1.