PA-457: a potent HIV inhibitor that disrupts core condensation by targeting a late step in Gag processing.

New HIV therapies are urgently needed to address the growing problem of drug resistance. In this article, we characterize the anti-HIV drug candidate 3-O-(3',3'-dimethylsuccinyl) betulinic acid (PA-457). We show that PA-457 potently inhibits replication of both WT and drug-resistant HIV-1 isolates and demonstrate that the compound acts by disrupting a late step in Gag processing involving conversion of the capsid precursor (p25) to mature capsid protein (p24). We find that virions from PA-457-treated cultures are noninfectious and exhibit an aberrant particle morphology characterized by a spherical, acentric core and a crescent-shaped, electron-dense shell lying just inside the viral membrane. To identify the determinants of compound activity we selected for PA-457-resistant virus in vitro. Consistent with the effect on Gag processing, we found that mutations conferring resistance to PA-457 map to the p25 to p24 cleavage site. PA-457 represents a unique class of anti-HIV compounds termed maturation inhibitors that exploit a previously unidentified viral target, providing additional opportunities for HIV drug discovery.

Peptides corresponding to the heptad repeat motifs in the transmembrane protein (gp41) of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 elicit antibodies to receptor-activated conformations of the envelope glycoprotein.

Two heptad repeat regions in the ectodomain of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) transmembrane subunit (gp41) self-assemble into a six-helix bundle structure that is critical for virus entry. Immunizations with peptides corresponding to these regions generated antibodies specific to the receptor-activated conformations of gp41.

The ability of an oligomeric human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) envelope antigen to elicit neutralizing antibodies against primary HIV-1 isolates is improved following partial deletion of the second hypervariable region.

Partial deletion of the second hypervariable region from the envelope of the primary-like SF162 virus increases the exposure of certain neutralization epitopes and renders the virus, SF162DeltaV2, highly susceptible to neutralization by clade B and non-clade B human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-positive) sera (L. Stamatatos and C. Cheng-Mayer, J. Virol. 78:7840-7845, 1998). This observation led us to propose that the modified, SF162DeltaV2-derived envelope may elicit higher titers of cross-reactive neutralizing antibodies than the unmodified SF162-derived envelope. To test this hypothesis, we immunized rabbits and rhesus macaques with the gp140 form of these two envelopes. In rabbits, both immunogens elicited similar titers of binding antibodies but the modified immunogen was more effective in eliciting neutralizing antibodies, not only against the SF162DeltaV2 and SF162 viruses but also against several heterologous primary HIV type 1 (HIV-1) isolates. In rhesus macaques both immunogens elicited potent binding antibodies, but again the modified immunogen was more effective in eliciting the generation of neutralizing antibodies against the SF162DeltaV2 and SF162 viruses. Antibodies capable of neutralizing several, but not all, heterologous primary HIV-1 isolates tested were elicited only in macaques immunized with the modified immunogen. The efficiency of neutralization of these heterologous isolates was lower than that recorded against the SF162 isolate. Our results strongly suggest that although soluble oligomeric envelope subunit vaccines may elicit neutralizing antibody responses against heterologous primary HIV-1 isolates, these responses will not be broad and potent unless specific modifications are introduced to increase the exposure of conserved neutralization epitopes.

Capture of an early fusion-active conformation of HIV-1 gp41.

Using an inhibitory synthetic peptide (DP-178) from HIV-1 gp41, we have trapped HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein (Env) undergoing conformational changes during virus entry. Our data show that DP-178 binds gp41 and inhibits Env-mediated membrane fusion after gp120 interacts with cellular receptors, indicating that conformational changes involving the coiled coil domain of gp41 are required for entry. Capture of this fusion-active conformation of Env provides insights into the early events leading to Env-mediated membrane fusion.

Biophysical characterization of recombinant proteins expressing the leucine zipper-like domain of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 transmembrane protein gp41.

Envelope oligomerization is thought to serve several crucial functions during the life cycle of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1). We recently reported that virus entry requires coiled-coil formation of the leucine zipper-like domain of the HIV-1 transmembrane envelope glycoprotein gp41 (C. Wild, T. Oas, C. McDanal, D. Bolognesi, and T. Matthews, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 89:10537-10541, 1992; C. Wild, J. W. Dubay, T. Greenwell, T. Baird, Jr., T. G. Oas, C. McDanal, E. Hunter, and T. Matthews, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 91:12676-12680, 1994). To determine the oligomeric state mediated by this region of the envelope, we have expressed the zipper motif as a fusion partner with the monomeric maltose-binding protein of Escherichia coli. The biophysical properties of this protein were characterized by velocity and equilibrium sedimentation, size exclusion chromatography, light scattering, and chemical cross-linking analyses. Results indicate that the leucine zipper sequence from HIV-1 is capable of multimerizing much larger and otherwise monomeric proteins into extremely stable tetramers. Recombinant proteins containing an alanine or a serine substitution at a critical isoleucine residue within the zipper region were also generated and similarly analyzed. The alanine- and serine-substituted proteins behaved as tetrameric and monomeric species, respectively, consistent with the influence of these same substitutions on the helical coiled-coil structure of synthetic peptide models. On the basis of these findings, we propose that the fusogenic gp4l structure involves tetramerization of the leucine zipper domain which is situated approximately 30 residues from the N-terminal fusion peptide sequence.

Peptides corresponding to a predictive alpha-helical domain of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 gp41 are potent inhibitors of virus infection.

To define the role of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) envelope proteins in virus infection, a series of peptides were synthesized based on various regions of the HIV-1 transmembrane protein gp41. One of these peptides, DP-178, corresponding to a region predictive of alpha-helical secondary structure (residues 643-678 of the HIV-1LAI isolate), has been identified as a potent antiviral agent. This peptide consistently blocked 100% of virus-mediated cell-cell fusion at < 5 ng/ml (IC90 approximately 1.5 ng/ml) and gave an approximately 10 times reduction in infectious titer of cell-free virus at approximately 80 ng/ml. The inhibitory activity was observed at peptide concentrations approximately 10(4) to 10(5) times lower than those at which cytotoxicity and cytostasis were detected. Peptide-mediated inhibition is HIV-1 specific in that approximately 10(2) to 10(3) times more peptide was required for inhibition of a human immunodeficiency virus type 2 isolate. Further experiments showed that DP-178 exhibited antiviral activity against both prototypic and primary HIV-1 isolates. As shown by PCR analysis of newly synthesized proviral DNA, DP-178 blocks an early step in the virus life cycle prior to reverse transcription. Finally, we discuss possible mechanisms by which DP-178 may exert its inhibitory activity.