Inhibition of HIV-1 by a double transdominant fusion gene.

A double transdominant fusion gene (trev) designed to inhibit two essential HIV functions simultaneously was constructed by linking tat and rev transdominant mutants. Trev independently inhibited both Tat and Rev functions, localized within the nucleus and cells transfected with trev showed a stable inhibition of HIV-1-mediated cytopathicity. A retroviral vector of trev was made and shown also to confer protection from HIV cytopathic effects. Simultaneous inhibition of two essential viral genes presents significant advantages for potential gene therapy treatment of HIV infection over conventional single effect molecules.