HIV-1 tat promotes integrin-mediated HIV transmission to dendritic cells by binding Env spikes and competes neutralization by anti-HIV antibodies.

Use of Env in HIV vaccine development has been disappointing. Here we show that, in the presence of a biologically active Tat subunit vaccine, a trimeric Env protein prevents in monkeys virus spread from the portal of entry to regional lymph nodes. This appears to be due to specific interactions between Tat and Env spikes that form a novel virus entry complex favoring R5 or X4 virus entry and productive infection of dendritic cells (DCs) via an integrin-mediated pathway. These Tat effects do not require Tat-transactivation activity and are blocked by anti-integrin antibodies (Abs). Productive DC infection promoted by Tat is associated with a highly efficient virus transmission to T cells. In the Tat/Env complex the cysteine-rich region of Tat engages the Env V3 loop, whereas the Tat RGD sequence remains free and directs the virus to integrins present on DCs. V2 loop deletion, which unshields the CCR5 binding region of Env, increases Tat/Env complex stability. Of note, binding of Tat to Env abolishes neutralization of Env entry or infection of DCs by anti-HIV sera lacking anti-Tat Abs, which are seldom present in natural infection. This is reversed, and neutralization further enhanced, by HIV sera containing anti-Tat Abs such as those from asymptomatic or Tat-vaccinated patients, or by sera from the Tat/Env vaccinated monkeys. Thus, both anti-Tat and anti-Env Abs are required for efficient HIV neutralization. These data suggest that the Tat/Env interaction increases HIV acquisition and spreading, as a mechanism evolved by the virus to escape anti-Env neutralizing Abs. This may explain the low effectiveness of Env-based vaccines, which are also unlikely to elicit Abs against new Env epitopes exposed by the Tat/Env interaction. As Tat also binds Envs from different clades, new vaccine strategies should exploit the Tat/Env interaction for both preventative and therapeutic interventions.

Comparative evaluation of trimeric envelope glycoproteins derived from subtype C and B HIV-1 R5 isolates.

We previously reported that an envelope (Env) glycoprotein immunogen (o-gp140DeltaV2SF162) containing a partial deletion in the second variable loop (V2) derived from the R5-tropic HIV-1 isolate SF162 partially protected vaccinated rhesus macaques against pathogenic SHIV(SF162P4) virus. Extending our studies to subtype C isolate TV1, we have purified o-gp140DeltaV2TV1 (subtype C DeltaV2 trimer) to homogeneity, performed glycosylation analysis, and determined its ability to bind CD4, as well as a panel of well-characterized neutralizing monoclonal antibodies (mAb). In general, critical epitopes are preserved on the subtype C DeltaV2 trimer; however, we did not observe significant binding for the b12 mAb. The molecular mass of subtype C DeltaV2 trimer was found to be 450 kDa, and the hydrodynamic radius was found to be 10.87 nm. Our data suggest that subtype C DeltaV2 trimer binds to CD4 with an affinity comparable to o-gp140DeltaV2SF162 (subtype B DeltaV2 trimer). Using isothermal titration calorimetric (ITC) analysis, we demonstrated that all three CD4 binding sites (CD4-BS) in both subtype C and B trimers are exposed and accessible. However, compared to subtype B trimer, the three CD4-BS in subtype C trimer have different affinities for CD4, suggesting a cooperativity of CD4 binding in subtype C trimer but not in subtype B trimer. Negative staining electron microscopy of the subtype C DeltaV2 trimer has demonstrated that it is in fact a trimer. These results highlight the importance of studying subtype C Env, and also of developing appropriate subtype C-specific reagents that may be used for better immunological characterization of subtype C Env for developing an AIDS vaccine.

Structural characteristics correlate with immune responses induced by HIV envelope glycoprotein vaccines.

HIV envelope glycoprotein (Env) is the target for inducing neutralizing antibodies. Env is present on the virus surface as a trimer, and, upon binding to CD4, a cascade of events leads to structural rearrangement exposing the co-receptor binding site and entry into the CD4+ host target cells. We have designed monomeric and trimeric Env constructs with and without deletion of the variable loop 2 (ΔV2) from SF162, a subtype B primary isolate, and performed biophysical, biochemical and immunological studies to establish a potential structure­functional relationship. We expressed these Envs in CHO cells, purified the proteins to homogeneity and performed biophysical studies to define the binding properties to CD4, structural characteristics and exposure of epitopes recognized by b12 and CD4i mAb (17B) on both full-length and mutant HIV Env proteins. Parameters evaluated include oligomerization state, number and affinity of CD4 binding sites, enthalpy and entropy of the Env­CD4 interaction and affinity for b12 and 17b mAbs. We observed one CD4 binding site per monomer and three active CD4 binding sites per trimer. A40-fold difference in affinity of the gp120 monomer vs. the o-gp140 trimer towards CD4 was observed (Kd = 58 nM and 1.5 nM, respectively),whereas only a 2-fold difference was observed for the V2 deleted Envs (Kd of gp120ΔV2 = 19 nM, Kd of o-gp140DV2 = 9.3 nM). Monomers had 3-fold higher affinity to the mAb 17b and at least 3-fold weaker affinity to b12 compared to trimers, with gp120DV2 having the weakest affinity for b12 (Kd = 446 nM). Affinity of CD4 binding correlated with proportion of the antibodies induced against the conformational epitopes by the corresponding Envs, and changes in mAb binding correlated with the induction of antibodies directed against linear epitopes. Furthermore,biophysical analysis reveals that the V2 deletion has broad structural implications in the monomer not shared by the trimer, and these changes are reflected in the quality of the immune responses induced in rabbits. These data suggest that biophysical characteristics of HIV Env, such as affinity for CD4, and exposure of important neutralizing epitopes, such as those recognized by b12 mAb, may be important predictors of its in vivo efficacy and may serve as important surrogate markers for screening Env structures as potential vaccine candidates.