Of 10 distinct cloned DNA copies of mRNAs expressed in T lymphocytes but not in B lymphocytes and associated with membrane-bound polysomes, one hybridizes to a region of the genome that has rearranged in a T-cell lymphoma and several T-cell hybridomas. These characteristics suggest that it encodes one chain of the elusive antigen receptor on the surface of T lymphocytes.

The genome of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) contains several open reading frames (ORFs) not present in other viruses. The 'A' gene, also known as Q2 P'3, ORF-1(4) or sor5, partially overlaps the pol gene; its protein product has a relative molecular mass of 23,000 (Mr 23K) and is present in productively infected cells. The function of this protein is unclear; mutant viruses deleted in 'A' replicate in and kill CD4+ lymphocyte lines, but the high degree of conservation of the deduced amino-acid sequence in nine different HIV isolates (80%) and the presence of analogous genes in HIV-2 and other lentiviruses suggest that the gene function is an important one. Here we describe a mutant virus deficient in the 'A' gene which produces virion particles normally; however, the particles are approximately 1,000 times less infective than wild type. Transcomplementation experiments partially restore infectivity. The mutant virus spreads efficiently when virus-producing cells are co-cultivated with CD4+ lymphocytes, however, indicating that HIV can spread from cell to cell in a mechanism that does not require the 'A' gene product and probably does not require the production of infective virus particles.

Comparison of the sequence of a cloned T cell-specific cDNA with those of cross-reacting cloned cDNAs isolated from a thymocyte library indicates the presence of variable, constant and joining regions remarkably similar in size and sequence to those encoding immunoglobulin proteins. Together with the evidence for somatic gene rearrangements reported in the accompanying paper, this strongly suggests that the TM86 cDNA clone encodes one chain of the T-cell receptor for antigen.

By subtractive cDNA hybridizations, we have isolated a new species of T-cell receptor cDNA clone whose predicted amino acid sequence has homology to variable, constant, joining and diversity segments of immunoglobulins and T-cell receptors. The corresponding genomic sequence is also rearranged in several T-cell DNAs. The four potential N-linked glycosylation sites, frequency of expression and predicted molecular weight (27,800) of this molecule make it a likely candidate for the alpha-chain of the T-cell receptor. Expression data also indicate that this gene may be activated at a later stage of T-cell differentiation than the beta-chain.

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Labeled cDNA probes highly enriched for Bcell-specific (B*-T) and T-suppressor-cell-specific (T,*-B) sequences were used to screen a set of genomic cosmid clones spanning 230 kilobases of the murine immune response (I) region. With the B-cell derived probe, four I-region genes were detectable (Ap, Eig, E.62, and Ea), as well as an additional (fifth) region of hybridization. The T-cell probe, prepared from a putative I-J positive suppressor cell hybridoma, was negative in a parallel experiment. A genomic fragment corresponding to the new region of hybridization seen with the Bcell cDNA probe identified a discrete mRNA species in RNA blotting analysis that had a pattern of expression strikingly Recently, 230 kilobases (kb) of the murine I region were isolated from a cosmid library, prepared from BALB/c strain DNA, using cross-hybridizing human probes and chromosomal walking procedures (12,13). Three of the four known genes encoding Ia polypeptides were identified within these clones (Au9, E,6, and Ea). In addition, an apparent gene fragment, designated E82, was also found within this region (12). Using cell-type-specific cDNA probes that represent a small subset ("'2%) of B-and T-cell gene expression (ref. 14; unpublished observation), we screened the cosmid clones for any additional genes that might be expressed in lymphocytes. We found this approach to be a rapid and efficient way of surveying large expanses of the chromosome, and it should be of general utility in "saturating" an expanse of cloned DNA for differentially expressed genes. In particular, we were able to localize and establish the orientation of the Ad gene. Cytoplasmic RNA Preparation. Cells were grown to a high density (1-2 x 106 per ml), refreshed with new medium for 2-4 hr, chilled with phosphate-buffered saline, and cytoplasmic RNA was prepared as described (18). Poly(A)+ RNA was made by selecting once over oligo(dT) cellulose. MATERIALS AND METHODSCell-Type-Specific Probes and Blot Hybridization. 32P-labeled cDNA was synthesized as described (19)

HIV infection is accompanied by an early immune dysfunction limiting host control of virus and likely contributing to difficulties in achieving a successful vaccine against HIV. We report here that the HIV Tat protein is strongly immunosuppressive, both immediately after immunization of mice with soluble protein (sTat), and in seroconverting humans, and propose that Tat-induced suppression cripples immune surveillance to HIV infection. We show that macrophages are sensitive to sTat stimulation at concentrations 1,000-fold lower (500 pM) than T cells, and this stimulation is accompanied by the immunosuppressive induction of Fas ligand on the macrophage. T cell proliferative defects induced by sTat in vitro can be completely (at lower concentrations of sTat) or partially (at higher concentrations) reversed by antagonists to Fas͞Fas ligand interaction. We further report a method to preserve immunogenicity while inactivating Tat immunosuppression through oxidation, which advances the use of oxidized Tat as a component of an anti-HIV vaccine. These observations define additional methods to study the immunosuppressive functions of sTat that now may be rapidly applied to primary isolates from individuals with differing clinical courses. Our findings have immediate relevance for vaccine development, by describing and supporting a strategy that includes inactivated sTat in a multicomponent, anti-HIV vaccine.

Protein tyrosine phosphorylation is a common mechanism of signaling in pathways that regulate T cell receptor-mediated cell activation, cell proliferation, and the cell cycle. Because human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is though to affect normal cell signaling, tyrosine phosphorylation may be associated with HIV cytopathicity. In both HIV-infected cells and transfected cells that stably express HIV envelope glycoproteins undergoing HIVgp41-induced cell fusion, a 30-kilodalton protein was phosphorylated on tyrosine with kinetics similar to those of syncytium formation and cell death. When tyrosine phosphorylation was inhibited by the protein tyrosine kinase inhibitor herbimycin A, envelope-mediated syncytium formation was coordinately reduced. These studies show that specific intracellular signals, which apparently participate in cytopathicity, are generated by HIV and suggest strategies by which the fusion process might be interrupted.