HIV-1 gp41的酵母表面展示及表达优化

以His标签检测蛋白的表达, 利用酿酒酵母表面展示系统, 成功地将HIV-1 gp41片段锚定在酵母表面, 并检测到gp41的活性。以pMD18T-gp41为模板, 通过PCR技术克隆了gp41基因, 将gp41基因通过双酶切连接到载体pICAS-His上,构建了gp41酵母表面展示载体, 并将其转化至酿酒酵母(Saccharomyces cerevisiae)MT8-1中。重组菌经培养, 利用免疫荧光染色方法进行染色, 显微镜观察发现重组酵母细胞表面有绿色荧光, 流式细胞仪结果进一步证实gp41正确折叠展示于酵母细胞表面。采用不同浓度的葡萄糖培养基进行表达优化。当葡萄糖浓度为1%时, 82.46%的酵母细胞表达了gp41抗原; 随着葡萄糖浓度升高, 蛋白表达受到抑制。     

双抗体夹心ELISA检测HIV-1 gp41抗原方法的建立

目的:建立检测HIV-1gp41抗原的双抗体夹心ELISA,并探讨其临床应用的可行性。方法:用饱和硫酸铵(SAS)纯化抗HIV-1gp41-5单克隆抗体(mAb),用HRP标记后建立双抗体夹心ELISA法,对其灵敏度及特异性进行检测,并用该方法对40份HIV-1阳性血清进行了检测。结果:用mAbE12(5μg/mL)为包被抗体,2H6为酶标记抗体(1∶900)建立了双抗体夹心ELISA法,检测gp41-5多肽的灵敏度是100pg/mL。对HIV-1阳性血清中gp41抗原的检出率为67.5%(27/40)。结论:建立了特异性强、灵敏度良好的检测HIV-1gp41抗原的双抗体夹心ELISA法。     

HIV-1 gp41的酵母表面展示及表达优化

以His标签检测蛋白的表达, 利用酿酒酵母表面展示系统, 成功地将HIV-1 gp41片段锚定在酵母表面, 并检测到gp41的活性。以pMD18T-gp41为模板, 通过PCR技术克隆了gp41基因, 将gp41基因通过双酶切连接到载体pICAS-His上,构建了gp41酵母表面展示载体, 并将其转化至酿酒酵母(Saccharomyces cerevisiae)MT8-1中。重组菌经培养, 利用免疫荧光染色方法进行染色, 显微镜观察发现重组酵母细胞表面有绿色荧光, 流式细胞仪结果进一步证实gp41正确折叠展示于酵母细胞表面。采用不同浓度的葡萄糖培养基进行表达优化。当葡萄糖浓度为1%时, 82.46%的酵母细胞表达了gp41抗原; 随着葡萄糖浓度升高, 蛋白表达受到抑制。     

HIV-1 CRF07 B/C亚型gp41的表达、纯化和初步结构分析

HIV-1跨膜蛋白gp41是HIV-1包膜与靶细胞膜融合过程中的关键蛋白,而且序列保守,是理想的HIV-1作用靶点。为获得HIV-1中国流行株CRF07 B/C gp41蛋白的晶体结构来指导疫苗设计及药物开发,采用CRF07 B/C gp160基因序列为模板,经PCR、酶切、连接,将gp41 helix-bundle区域克隆到pET30-his表达载体中,经表达、纯化和结晶筛选,获得了gp41 helix-bundle的晶体并解析了结构,为针对中国艾滋病病毒流行株疫苗的设计及药物开发提供了结构参考。     

HIV-1跨膜蛋白gp41螺旋结构的原核表达及功能研究

HIV-1跨膜蛋白gp41是HIV-1包膜与靶细胞膜的融合过程中的关键蛋白,是理想的HIV-1融合抑制剂靶点。为开展以gp41为靶点的抑制剂筛选,以HIV-1 B亚型病毒基因为模板,通过PCR、酶切、连接等方法构建得到gp41 5-helix与6-helix重组质粒,转入大肠杆菌BL21（DE3）进行表达,经变性和复性后亲和层析纯化蛋白。经SDS-PAGE鉴定,纯化后蛋白纯度较高。本研究还通过非变性凝胶电泳证明gp41 5-helix与C-多肽衍生物T-20存在相互作用,为下一步药物筛选模型的建立奠定了基础。     

HIV-1跨膜蛋白gp41与N-取代吡咯衍生物的结合模式研究

采用分子对接,分子动力学(MD)模拟和分子力学/泊松-波尔兹曼溶剂可有面积方法与分子力学/广义伯恩溶剂可及面积方法(MM-PBSA/MM-GBSA),预测两种N-取代吡咯衍生物与HIV-1 跨膜蛋白gp41疏水口袋的结合模式与作用机理．分子对接采用多种受体构象,并从结果中选取几种可能的结合模式进行MD 模拟,然后通过MM-PBSA计算结合能的方法识别最优的结合模式. MM-PBSA计算结果表明,范德华相互作用是结合的主要驱动力,而极性相互作用决定了配体在结合过程中的取向．进一步的结合能分解显示,配体的羧基与gp41残基Arg579的静电相互作用对结合有重要贡献．上述工作为进一步优化N-取代吡咯衍生物类的HIV-1融合抑制剂建立了良好的理论基础．     

人类免疫缺陷病毒1型gp41结构与功能的研究进展

人类免疫缺陷病毒1型(HIV-1)通过其包膜糖蛋白(Env)介导侵入靶细胞.Env由受体特异性结合单位gp120和膜融合单位gp41组成.HIV-1的gp41分为3个功能区:膜外区、跨膜区和膜内区.膜外区是病毒感染时膜融合的主要结构基础;跨膜区通过疏水残基使Env锚定在脂质膜上;膜内区则表现多重功能,参与病毒的感染、复...     

SBi4211阻断HIV-1 gp41促进新生隐球菌对人脑微血管内皮细胞的黏附作用

【背景】目前艾滋病和新型隐球菌性脑膜炎共病因素导致其高发病率和死亡率的机制尚不明确。【目的】探索S100B抑制剂SBi4211对HIV-1 gp41促进新生隐球菌黏附人脑微血管内皮细胞的影响和可能机制。【方法】黏附实验分析SBi4211是否能阻断HIV-1 gp41诱导下新生隐球菌黏附人脑微血管内皮细胞。使用免疫印迹方法进一步检测在此过程中SBi4211对脑微血管内皮细胞上新生隐球菌透明质酸受体CD44表达的影响。【结果】SBi4211可显著抑制HIV-1gp41对新生隐球菌黏附脑微血管内皮细胞的增强作用,且呈时间、剂量效应(P0.05);免疫印迹结果显示SBi4211可抑制新生隐球菌和/或HIV-1 gp41增加脑微血管内皮细胞上新生隐球菌透明质酸受体CD44的表达。【结论】SBi4211可通过下调受体CD44来阻断HIV-1 gp41对新生隐球菌黏附人脑微血管内皮细胞的增强效应,这为了解HIV-1与新生隐球菌共病机制及其防治策略提供了新思路。     

HIV-1包膜蛋白gp41优势抗原的构建及可溶性表达

目的:筛选1型人免疫缺陷病毒(HIV-1)中国流行株中包膜蛋白gp41的优势抗原片段,构建具有区域流行代表性的HIV-1 gp41重组抗原,为改进现有HIV-1初筛试剂盒中使用的同类抗原奠定基础。方法:利用免疫斑点杂交和生物信息学方法,从收集自重庆、广州、上海的区域代表性150份HIV-1感染者血清标本中筛选gp41抗原性强的候选样本,利用RT-PCR及巢式PCR方法扩增包含重要抗原表位决定蔟的gp41基因片段,与原核表达载体pQE30连接,转化大肠杆菌M15构建gp41重组抗原表达菌株,表达后经亲和层析纯化、SDS-PAGE和Western印迹鉴定。结果:兔源HRP标记的gp41多抗能识别标本中gp41抗原性差异,得到候选样本,扩增包含gp41主要抗原表位片段;构建了包含gp41抗原表达簇的重组原核表达质粒,表达、纯化后经His标签抗体Western印迹鉴定为阳性。结论:高纯度的重组优势gp41抗原的构建和鉴定,为进一步改进现有HIV初筛诊断奠定了基础。     

HIV-1跨膜蛋白gp41的截短及表达

将HIV-1跨膜蛋白gp41进行截短,在大肠杆菌中进行表达并纯化。PCR扩增gp41的部分编码基因,回收的PCR产物纯化后克隆到连接载体pGEM-T上,然后用EcoRI和Sal I切下目的基因,并构建到表达载体pGEX-4T3上,导入宿主细胞BL21(DE3),用IPTG诱导表达,表达产物用亲和层析进行纯化并作相应鉴定。截短的HIV-1跨膜蛋白gp41能直接在大肠杆菌内进行表达,利用亲和层析能方便地将目的蛋白进行纯化,为跨膜蛋白的进一步应用打下基础。     

Fast folding of the HIV-1 and SIV gp41 six-helix bundles

Human (HIV-1) and simian (SIV) immunodeficiency virus fusion with the host cell is promoted by the receptor-triggered refolding of the gp41 envelope protein into a stable trimer-of-hairpins structure that brings viral and cellular membranes into close proximity. The core of this hairpin structure is a six-helix bundle in which an inner homotrimeric coiled coil is buttressed by three antiparallel outer HR2 helices. We have used stopped-flow circular dichroism spectroscopy to characterize the unfolding and refolding kinetics of the six-helix bundle using the HIV-1 and SIV N34(L6)C28 polypeptides. In each case, the time-course of ellipticity changes in refolding experiments is well described by a simple two-state model involving the native trimer and the unfolded monomers. The unfolding free energy of the HIV-1 and SIV trimers and their urea dependence calculated from kinetic data are in very good agreement with data measured directly by isothermal unfolding experiments. Thus, formation of the gp41 six-helix bundle structure involves no detectable population of stable, partly folded intermediates. Folding of HIV-1 N34(L6)C28 is five orders of magnitudes faster than folding of its SIV counterpart in aqueous buffer: k(on),(HIV-1)=1.3 x 10(15)M(-2)s(-1) versus k(on),(SIV)=1.1 x 10(10)M(-2)s(-1). The unfolding rates are similar: k(off),(HIV-1)=1.1 x 10(-5)s(-1) versus k(off),(SIV=)5.7 x 10(-4)s(-1). Kinetic m-values indicate that the transition state for folding of the HIV-1 protein is significantly more compact than the transition state of the SIV protein. Replacement of a single SIV threonine by isoleucine corresponding to position 573 in the HIV-1 sequence significantly stabilizes the protein and renders the folding rate close to that of the HIV-1 protein yet without making the transition state of the mutant as compact as that of the HIV-1 protein. Therefore, the overall reduction of surface exposure in the high-energy transition state seems not to account for different folding rates. While the available biological evidence suggests that refolding of the gp41 protein is slow, our study implies that structural elements outside the trimer-of-hairpins limit the rate of HIV-1 fusion kinetics.     

Identification of the HIV-1 gp41 core-binding motif--HXXNPF

The HIV-1 gp41 core, a six-helix bundle formed between the N- and C-terminal heptad repeats, plays a critical role in fusion between the viral and target cell membranes. Using N36(L8)C34 as a model of the gp41 core to screen phage display peptide libraries, we identified a common motif, HXXNPF (X is any of the 20 natural amino acid residues). A selected positive phage clone L7.8 specifically bound to N36(L8)C34 and this binding could be blocked by a gp41 core-specific monoclonal antibody (NC-1). JCH-4, a peptide containing HXXNPF motif, effectively inhibited HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein-mediated syncytium-formation. The epitope of JCH-4 was proven to be linear and might locate in the NHR regions of the gp41 core. These data suggest that HXXNPF motif may be a gp41 core-binding sequence and HXXNPF motif-containing molecules can be used as probes for studying the role of the HIV-1 gp41 core in membrane fusion process.     

Identification of membrane-active regions of the HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein gp41 using a 15-mer gp41-peptide scan

The identification of membrane-active regions of the ectodomain of the HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein gp41 has been made by determining the effect on membrane integrity of a 15-mer gp41-derived peptide library. By monitoring the effect of this peptide library on membrane leakage, we have identified three regions on the gp41 ectodomain with membrane-interacting capabilities: Region 1, which would roughly correspond to the polar sequence which follows the fusion domain and extends to the N-terminal heptad repeat region; Region 2, which would correspond to the immunodominant loop; and Region 3, which would correspond to the pre-transmembrane region of gp41. The identification of these three regions supports their direct role in membrane fusion as well as facilitating the future development of HIV-1 entry inhibitors.     

P20A inhibits HIV-1 fusion through its electrostatic interaction with the distal region of the gp41 fusion core

We previously identified an HIV-1 fusion inhibitor P20A targeting HIV-1 gp41 6-HB fusion core. Using alanine scanning mutagenesis, we investigated the effect of 6-HB surface residue mutations on the binding affinity between P20A and 6-HB. Substitution of positively or negatively charged residues in the distal region of 6-HB with alanines resulted in significant decrease or increase of its binding affinity to P20A, respectively. The 6-HB with E630K, D632K, or E634K mutation exhibited enhanced binding affinity with P20A, suggesting that P20A blocks HIV-1 fusion through electrostatic interaction with the positively charged residues in the distal region of the gp41 fusion core.     

Molecular dynamics studies of the transmembrane domain of gp41 from HIV-1

Helix-helix interactions in the putative three-helix bundle formation of the gp41 transmembrane (TM) domain may contribute to the process of virus-cell membrane fusion in HIV-1 infection. In this study, molecular dynamics is used to analyze and compare the conformations of monomeric and trimeric forms of the TM domain in various solvent systems over the course of 4 to 23-ns simulations. The trimeric bundles of the TM domain were stable as helices and remained associated in a hydrated POPE lipid bilayer for the duration of the 23-ns simulation. Several stable inter-chain hydrogen bonds, mostly among the three deprotonated arginine residues located at the center of each of the three TM domains, formed in a right-handed bundle embedded in the lipid bilayer. No such bonds were observed when the bundle was left-handed or when the central arginine residue in each of the three TM helices was replaced with isoleucine (R_I mutant), suggesting that the central arginine residues may play an essential role in maintaining the integrity of the three-helix bundle. These observations suggest that formation of the three-helix bundle of the TM domain may play a role in the trimerization of gp41, thought to occur during the virus-cell membrane fusion process.     

HIV-1 infection: Functional competition between gp41 and interleukin-2

To determine whether the gp41 of HIV-1 could adhere to the interleukin (IL)-2 receptor at the surface of target cells in vitro, we analysed in vitro the possible functional competition between various forms of the HIV-1 gp41 molecule (i.e. peptides, trimeric or primary structures) and IL-2. This competition has been analysed in a test involving the proliferation of an IL-2-dependent cell line (CTLL2). The putative interaction between the IL-2 molecule and HIV-1 has also been assayed on MT4 cells (CD4⁺ T lymphocytes) in culture. The gp41 trimeric molecule and an HIV-1 gp41 peptide (578–590 aminoacid sequence) dramatically inhibited CTLL2 cell proliferation, despite the presence of IL-2. The addition of serum, containing anti-gp41 antibodies, from HIV-1 patients resulted in a significant abolition of this inhibition. The concomitant incubation of IL-2 and HIV-1 with MT4 cells resulted in a strong decrease (70%) in HIV-1 p24 release. These data suggest that the gp41 of HIV-1 can use the IL-2 receptor during the process of HIV-1 infection and that there is some functional mimesis between gp41 and IL-2.     

A Fusion Intermediate gp41 Immunogen Elicits Neutralizing Antibodies to HIV-1

The membrane-proximal external region (MPER) of the human immunodeficiency virus, type 1 (HIV-1) envelope glycoprotein subunit gp41 is targeted by potent broadly neutralizing antibodies 2F5, 4E10, and 10E8. These antibodies recognize linear epitopes and have been suggested to target the fusion intermediate conformation of gp41 that bridges viral and cellular membranes. Anti-MPER antibodies exert different degrees of membrane interaction, which is considered to be the limiting factor for the generation of such antibodies by immunization. Here we characterize a fusion intermediate conformation of gp41 (gp41_int-Cys) and show that it folds into an elongated ∼12-nm-long extended structure based on small angle x-ray scattering data. Gp41_int-Cys was covalently linked to liposomes via its C-terminal cysteine and used as immunogen. The gp41_int-Cys proteoliposomes were administered alone or in prime-boost regimen with trimeric envelope gp140_CA018 in guinea pigs and elicited high anti-gp41 IgG titers. The sera interacted with a peptide spanning the MPER region, demonstrated competition with broadly neutralizing antibodies 2F5 and 4E10, and exerted modest lipid binding, indicating the presence of MPER-specific antibodies. Although the neutralization potency generated solely by gp140_CA018 was higher than that induced by gp41_int-Cys, the majority of animals immunized with gp41_int-Cys proteoliposomes induced modest breadth and potency in neutralizing tier 1 pseudoviruses and replication-competent simian/human immunodeficiency viruses in the TZM-bl assay as well as responses against tier 2 HIV-1 in the A3R5 neutralization assay. Our data thus demonstrate that liposomal gp41 MPER formulation can induce neutralization activity, and the strategy serves to improve breadth and potency of such antibodies by improved vaccination protocols.