A mutant tat protein inhibits HIV-1 reverse transcription by targeting the reverse transcription complex

Previously, we reported that a mutant of Tat referred to as Nullbasic inhibits HIV-1 reverse transcription although the mechanism of action is unknown. Here we show that Nullbasic is a reverse transcriptase (RT) binding protein that targets the reverse transcription complex rather than directly inhibiting RT activity. An interaction between Nullbasic and RT was observed by using coimmunoprecipitation and pulldown assays, and a direct interaction was measured by using a biolayer interferometry assay. Mixtures of recombinant 6 x His-RT and Nullbasic-FLAG-V5-6 x His at molar ratios of up to 1:20,000 did not inhibit RT activity in standard homopolymer primer template assays. An analysis of virus made by cells that coexpressed Nullbasic showed that Nullbasic copurified with virus particles, indicating that it was a virion protein. In addition, analysis of reverse transcription complexes (RTCs) isolated from cells infected with wild type or Nullbasic-treated HIV-1 showed that Nullbasic reduced the levels of viral DNA in RTC fractions. In addition, a shift in the distribution of viral DNA and CAp24 to less-dense non-RTC fractions was observed, indicating that RTC activity from Nullbasic-treated virus was impaired. Further analysis showed that viral cores isolated from Nullbasic-treated HIV undergo increased disassembly in vitro compared to untreated HIV-1. To our knowledge, this is the first description of an antiviral protein that inhibits reverse transcription by targeting the RTC and affecting core stability

Reflective Full Subcategories of the Category of L

This paper focuses on the relationship between L-posets and complete L-lattices from the categorical view. By considering a special class of fuzzy closure operators, we prove that the category of complete L-lattices is a reflective full subcategory of the category of L-posets with appropriate morphisms. Moreover, we characterize the Dedekind-MacNeille completions of L-posets and provide an equivalent description for them

Checklist and key to species of the leafhopper genus Japanagallia Ishihara, 1955 with description of a new species from China (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae, Megophthalminae)

A new leafhopper species, Japanagallia turriformis sp. n. of the tribe Agalliini of the subfamily Megophthalminae is described and illustrated from Yunnan Province  and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of China. Achecklist and key to the species of the genus are given, along with a map showing the geographical distributions of the 22 Chinese species

Fast and precise power prediction for combinatorial circuits considering glitching effects.

The power consumed by a combinational circuit is dictated by the switching activities of all signals associated with the circuit. Analytical approaches, named MCP and MCPG algorithms, are proposed for calculating signal activities for combinational circuits, and the later considers glitching effects. Both approaches are based on a Markov chain signal model, and directly account for correlations present among the signals. The accuracy of the approaches is verified by comparing signal activity values calculated using the proposed approaches with corresponding values produced through simulation studies. Another approach (called the MMCP algorithm) is also proposed to calculate the total transition activities including glitching, and can be more accurate than the proposed MCPG algorithm. It is also demonstrated that the proposed approaches are computationally efficient