TAT

Tat is the nuclear transcriptional activator of viral gene expression in HIV proliferation. it binds to a regulatory element in the HIV-1 long terminal repeat. By recruiting P-TEFb to TAR, TaT promotes transcription of viral mRNA. This arginine-rich TAT peptide penetrates plasma membrane directly, but not through endocytosis.

TAT is a synthetic research peptide in the HIV-1 Tat cell-penetrating peptide family. The basic region of HIV-1 Tat contains a widely used cell-penetrating peptide domain. Arginine- and lysine-rich Tat-derived sequences can associate with cell membranes and promote intracellular delivery of linked cargos. Tat fragments and analogs are useful for studying peptide uptake, membrane interaction, intracellular delivery, conjugation strategies, and cell-penetrating-peptide structure-function relationships.

• receptor or ligand-binding assays
• competition studies
• biochemical or enzymatic assays
• analytical LC-MS/HPLC methods
• antibody controls
• cell-based experiments
• comparative structure-activity studies

For a fragment, residue-substituted analog, stereochemical variant, labeled peptide, or terminally modified form, experimental behavior should be evaluated for the exact construct rather than assumed to match the native parent peptide. Sequence-dependent solubility, aggregation, adsorption, oxidation, and stability should be considered when establishing reconstitution, storage, and assay conditions.

1. The cationic cell-penetrating peptide CPP(TAT) derived from HIV-1 Tat is rapidly transported into living fibroblasts
2. Translocation of HIV TAT peptide and analogues induced by multiplexed membrane and cytoskeletal interactions