Dioxin activates HIV-1 gene expression by an oxidative stress pathway requiring a functional cytochrome P450 CYP1A1 enzyme.

We have studied the effect of several environmental chemicals on the transient expression of a chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (cat) reporter gene linked to the promoter sequences in the long terminal repeat (LTR) of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1). Aflatoxin B1, 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD; dioxin) and benzo[a]pyrene cause a significant increases in CAT expression in mouse hepatoma Hepa-1 cells. The induction of CAT after TCDD treatment is abolished by administration of N-acetyl-L-cysteine or 2-mercaptoethanol and does not take place in a mutant cell line that lacks CYP1A1 enzymatic activity. Linker-scanning mutational analysis of transcription factor binding sites in the promoter revealed that both the NF kappa B and an adjacent aromatic hydrocarbon response element (AhRE) are required for TCDD-dependent CAT expression. In addition, mutation of the NFAT/AP-1 binding sites in the negative regulatory region of the promoter increases the magnitude of the TCDD effect. We conclude that induction of a functional CYP1A1 monooxygenase by TCDD stimulates a pathway that generates thiol-sensitive reactive oxygen intermediates which, in turn, are responsible for the TCDD-dependent activation of genes linked to the LTR. These data might provide an explanation for findings that TCDD increases infectious HIV-1 titers in experimental systems and for epidemiologic reports suggesting that exposure to aromatic hydrocarbons, such as found in cigarette smoke, is associated with an acceleration in AIDS progression.