HIV-1 LTR activity in human CD40-activated B lymphocytes is dependent on NF-kappaB

CD40-stimulated human B lymphocytes are highly permissive to a productive infection by the human immunodeficiency virus type 1. In these cells, nuclear factors involved in activation of the HIV-1 LTR, which contains the transcriptional control elements of the virus, are unknown. Transient expression assays with plasmids containing deleted parts of the LTR region linked to a reporter gene showed that the NF-kappaB binding site was essential for HIV-1 LTR activity in CD40-stimulated B lymphocytes. In addition, electrophoretic mobility shift and supershift assays revealed that important NF-kappaB binding activity composed of at least p50, p65, and c-Rel NF-kappaB subunits was present in nuclei of CD40-stimulated B cells. These results confirm at a molecular level the ability of HIV-1 to replicate in B cells and that this activity is strongly associated with NF-kappaB.