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Updated: Mar 18, 2026

Nucleocapsid Annealing-Mediated Electrophoresis NAME Assay Allows the Rapid Identification of HIV-1 Nucleocapsid Inhibitors
Published on: January 19, 2015
Iron(II) supramolecular helicates interfere with the HIV-1 Tat-TAR RNA interaction critical for viral replication
Jaroslav Malina1, Michael J Hannon2, Viktor Brabec1,3
1Institute of Biophysics, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, v.v.i., Kralovopolska 135, CZ-61265 Brno, Czech Republic.
Abstract:
The interaction between the HIV-1 transactivator protein Tat and TAR (transactivation responsive region) RNA, plays a critical role in HIV-1 transcription. Iron(II) supramolecular helicates were evaluated for their in vitro activity to inhibit Tat-TAR RNA interaction using UV melting studies, electrophoretic mobility shift assay, and RNase A footprinting. The results demonstrate that iron(II) supramolecular helicates inhibit Tat-TAR interaction at nanomolar concentrations by binding to TAR RNA. These studies provide a new insight into the biological potential of metallosupramolecular helicates.
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