Virus induction of NF-kappa B/Rel proteins and type I interferon gene expression in myelomonoblastic cells

The correlation between virus induced NF-kappa B DNA binding activity and interferon gene expression was examined in the myelomonoblastic PLB-985 cell line. Previous studies have shown that chronic HIV-1 infection of PLB-985 cells (PLB-IIIB) leads to the selection of cells with a more differentiated monocytic phenotype and with constitutive NF-kappa B DNA-binding activity. In this report we demonstrate that the kinetics of HIV-1 and Sendai virus infection of PLB-985 cells directly correlates with induction of NF-kappa B DNA binding activity. Based on UV cross-linking and immunoprecipitation analysis, p50, the strong transcriptional activator p65 and c-Rel represent the major constituents of this NF-kappa B DNA-binding activity. We also demonstrate an alteration in the kinetics of type I IFN gene transcription following secondary Sendai virus infection of PLB-IIIB cells compared to PLB-985. The results of our studies suggest that HIV infected individuals may respond differently to secondary viral or bacterial infections by augmenting the synthesis of NF-kappa B regulated immune response modifiers, which could alter the onset or progression of AIDS.