Effect of Codon Usage on HIV-1 Gag Translation
Author Information
Author(s): Ngumbela Kholiswa C., Ryan Kieran P., Sivamurthy Rohini, Brockman Mark A., Gandhi Rajesh T., Bhardwaj Nina, Kavanagh Daniel G.
Primary Institution: HIV Pathogenesis Programme, Doris Duke Medical Research Institute, University of KwaZulu Natal, Durban, South Africa
Hypothesis
How does codon optimization affect the translational efficiency of HIV-1 gag mRNA in T cells?
Conclusion
Codon optimization leads to a slight increase in gag translational efficiency, but most enhancement in protein expression from DNA vectors is due to improved RNA processing and export.
Supporting Evidence
- Codon optimization resulted in a 1.6-fold increase in gag translational efficiency.
- The majority of enhancement in protein expression from DNA vectors is due to improved RNA stability and export.
- The study used quantitative ELISA and flow cytometry to measure Gag production.
Takeaway
This study looks at how changing the way HIV-1's gag gene is written can help make more of the protein in cells, but it turns out that just changing the writing isn't the main reason for the increase.
Methodology
Jurkat cells were transfected with synthetic mRNA of codon-optimized or non-optimized gag sequences, and Gag production was measured using ELISA and flow cytometry.
Limitations
The study primarily focuses on the effects of codon optimization without exploring other potential factors affecting translational efficiency.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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