Figure 2

HIV-1 transgene expression alters the gene expression of the zinc storage protein metallothionein-1 (MT1) and the zinc efflux transporter ZNT1 in the liver and the lung, and these effects are also reversed by dietary zinc supplementation. Panels A&B show the relative gene expression of MT1 and ZNT1, respectively in the liver and the lung of wild type and transgenic rats. *p < 0.05 increased compared to liver expression in wild type rats. Panel C shows the effects of dietary zinc supplementation (100 mg/L) on the ratio of relative gene expression of MT1 and ZNT1 in the liver and the lung of HIV-1 transgenic rats. *p < 0.05 decreased compared to untreated HIV-1 transgenic rats (no zinc supplements). In all determinations shown in Panels A, B and C, RNA was extracted from the tissues and converted to cDNA. Relative gene expressions of MT1 and ZNT1 were determined by real-time PCR using 18S as control and calculated by the ΔΔCT method. Each value represents the mean ± SEM of 4-6 determinations.