Binding of full-length HIV-1 gp120 to CD4 induces structural reorientation around the gp120 core

Small-angle x-ray scattering data on the unliganded full-length fully glycosylated HIV-1 gp120, the soluble CD4 (domains 1-2) receptor, and their complex in solution are presented. Ab initio structure restorations using these data provides the first look at the envelope shape for the unliganded and the complexed gp120 molecule. Fitting known crystal structures of the unliganded SIV and the complexed HIV gp120 core regions within our resultant shape constraints reveals movement of the V3 loop upon binding.     

Host-soluble galectin-1 promotes HIV-1 replication through a direct interaction with glycans of viral gp120 and host CD4

Sexual transmission of HIV-1 requires virus adsorption to a target cell, typically a CD4(+) T lymphocyte residing in the lamina propria, beneath the epithelium. To escape the mucosal clearance system and reach its target cells, HIV-1 has evolved strategies to circumvent deleterious host factors. Galectin-1, a soluble lectin found in the underlayers of the epithelium, increases HIV-1 infectivity by accelerating its binding to susceptible cells. By comparison, galectin-3, a family member expressed by epithelial cells and part of the mucosal clearance system, does not perform similarly. We show here that galectin-1 directly binds to HIV-1 in a β-galactoside-dependent fashion through recognition of clusters of N-linked glycans on the viral envelope gp120. Unexpectedly, this preferential binding of galectin-1 does not rely on the primary sequence of any particular glycans. Instead, glycan clustering arising from the tertiary structure of gp120 hinders its binding by galectin-3. Increased polyvalency of a specific ligand epitope is a common strategy for glycans to increase their avidity for lectins. In this peculiar occurrence, glycan clustering is instead exploited to prevent binding of gp120 by galectin-3, which would lead to a biological dead-end for the virus. Our data also suggest that galectin-1 binds preferentially to CD4, the host receptor for gp120. Together, these results suggest that HIV-1 exploits galectin-1 to enhance gp120-CD4 interactions, thereby promoting virus attachment and infection events. Since viral adhesion is a rate-limiting step for HIV-1 entry, modulation of the gp120 interaction with galectin-1 could thus represent a novel approach for the prevention of HIV-1 transmission.     

Structure of an HIV-2 gp120 in Complex with CD4

HIV-2 is a nonpandemic form of the virus causing AIDS, and the majority of HIV-2-infected patients exhibit long-term nonprogression. The HIV-1 and HIV-2 envelope glycoproteins, the sole targets of neutralizing antibodies, share 30 to 40% identity. As a first step in understanding the reduced pathogenicity of HIV-2, we solved a 3.0-Å structure of an HIV-2 gp120 bound to the host receptor CD4, which reveals structural similarity to HIV-1 gp120 despite divergence in amino acid sequence.     

Atomic insight into the CD4 binding-induced conformational changes in HIV-1 gp120

The entry of HIV-1 into a target cell requires gp120 and receptor CD4 as well as coreceptor CCR5/CXCR4 recognition events associated with conformational changes of the involved proteins. The binding of CD4 to gp120 is the initiation step of the whole process involving structural rearrangements that are crucial for subsequent pathways. Despite the wealth of knowledge about the gp120/CD4 interactions, details of the conformational changes occurring at this stage remain elusive. We have performed molecular dynamics simulations in explicit solvent based on the gp120/CD4/CD4i crystal structure in conjunction with modeled V3 and V4 loops to gain insight into the dynamics of the binding process. Three differentiated interaction modes between CD4 and gp120 were found, which involve electrostatics, hydrogen bond and van der Waals networks. A "binding funnel" model is proposed based on the dynamical nature of the binding interface together with a CD4-attraction gradient centered in gp120 at the CD4-Phe43-binding cavity. Distinct dynamical behaviors of free and CD4-bound gp120 were monitored, which likely represent the ground and pre-fusogenic states, respectively. The transition between these states revealed concerted motions in gp120 leading to: i) loop contractions around the CD4-Phe43-insertion cavity; ii) stabilization of the four-stranded "bridging sheet" structure; and iii) translocation and clustering of the V3 loop and the bridging sheet leading to the formation of the coreceptor binding site. Our results provide new insight into the dynamic of the underlying molecular recognition mechanism that complements the biochemical and structural studies.     

Detection of receptor-ligand interactions using surface plasmon resonance: model studies employing the HIV-1 gp120/CD4 interaction.

Surface plasmon resonance (SPR), a label-free, real time optical detection principle, has been investigated for its potential to detect and quantitate macromolecular ligand-ligate interactions. As model systems, the interactions of the HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein, gp120, and the monoclonal antibody L-71, with a soluble form of the T-cell receptor CD4 (sCD4), were investigated. In an effort to demonstrate potential analytical applications of this technology, operational characteristics of the SPR instrumentation (BIAcore, Pharmacia) including stability of the sensing surface and reproducibility in the measurement of such macromolecular interactions were investigated. In addition, the ability to detect and quantitate sCD4 directly from unfractionated cell culture supernatants, such as Streptomyces lividans, was investigated. The results demonstrate that SPR has potential in quantitating macromolecular interactions in both purified and crude samples and that the reproducibility in, and sensitivity of, such determinations is comparable to other techniques.     

Molecular mechanism of HIV-1 gp120 mutations that reduce CD4 binding affinity

The interaction of the HIV-1 fusion protein gp120 with its cellular receptor CD4 represents a crucial step of the viral infection process, thus rendering gp120 a promising target for the intervention with anti-HIV drugs. Naturally occurring mutations of gp120, however, can decrease its affinity for anti-infective ligands like therapeutic antibodies or soluble CD4. To understand this phenomenon on a structural level, we performed molecular dynamics simulations of two gp120 variants (termed gp120_3-2 and gp120_2-1), which exhibit a significantly decreased binding of soluble CD4. In both variants, the exchange of a nonpolar residue byglutamate was identified as an important determinant for reduced binding. However, those glutamates are located at different sequence positions and affect different steps of the recognition process: E471 in gp120_3-2 predominantly affects the CD4-bound conformation, whereas E372 in gp120_2-1 mainly modulates the conformational sampling of free gp120. Despite these differences, there exists an interesting similarity between the two variants: both glutamates exert their function by modulating the conformation and interactions of glycine-rich motifs (G366–G367, G471–G473) resulting in an accumulation of binding incompetent gp120 conformations or a loss of intermolecular gp120–CD4 hydrogen bonds. Thus, the present data suggests that interference with the structure and dynamics of glycine-rich stretches might represent a more widespread mechanism, by which gp120 mutations reduce binding affinity. This knowledge should be helpful to predict the resistance of novel gp120 mutations or to design gp120–ligands with improved binding properties.

An animated interactive 3D complement (I3DC) is available in Proteopedia at http://proteopedia.org/w/Journal:JBSD:41     

Thermodynamics of binding of a low-molecular-weight CD4 mimetic to HIV-1 gp120

NBD-556 and the chemically and structurally similar NBD-557 are two low-molecular weight compounds that reportedly block the interaction between the HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein gp120 and its receptor, CD4. NBD-556 binds to gp120 with a binding affinity of 2.7 x 10(5) M(-1) (K(d) = 3.7 muM) in a process characterized by a large favorable change in enthalpy partially compensated by a large unfavorable entropy change, a thermodynamic signature similar to that observed for binding of sCD4 to gp120. NBD-556 binding is associated with a large structuring of the gp120 molecule, as also demonstrated by CD spectroscopy. NBD-556, like CD4, activates the binding of gp120 to the HIV-1 coreceptor, CCR5, and to the 17b monoclonal antibody, which recognizes the coreceptor binding site of gp120. NBD-556 stimulates HIV-1 infection of CD4-negative, CCR5-expressing cells. The thermodynamic signature of the binding of NBD-556 to gp120 is very different from that of another viral entry inhibitor, BMS-378806. Whereas NBD-556 binds gp120 with a large favorable enthalpy and compensating unfavorable entropy changes, BMS-378806 does so with a small binding enthalpy change in a mostly entropy-driven process. NBD-556 is a competitive inhibitor of sCD4 and elicits a similar structuring of the coreceptor binding site, whereas BMS-378806 does not compete with sCD4 and does not induce coreceptor binding. These studies demonstrate that low-molecular-weight compounds can induce conformational changes in the HIV-1 gp120 glycoprotein similar to those observed upon CD4 binding, revealing distinct strategies for inhibiting the function of the HIV-1 gp120 envelope glycoprotein. Furthermore, competitive and noncompetitive compounds have characteristic thermodynamic signatures that can be used to guide the design of more potent and effective viral entry inhibitors.     

Delineation of a region of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 gp120 glycoprotein critical for interaction with the CD4 receptor

The primary event in the infection of cells by HIV is the interaction between the viral envelope glycoprotein, gp120, and its cellular receptor, CD4. A recombinant form of gp120 was found to bind to a recombinant CD4 antigen with high affinity. Two gp120-specific murine monoclonal antibodies were able to block the interaction between gp120 and CD4. The gp120 epitope of one of these antibodies was isolated by immunoaffinity chromatography of acid-cleaved gp120 and shown to be contained within amino acids 397-439. Using in vitro mutagenesis, we have found that deletion of 12 amino acids from this region of gp120 leads to a complete loss of binding. In addition, a single amino acid substitution in this region results in significantly decreased binding, suggesting that sequences within this region are directly involved in the binding of gp120 to the CD4 receptor.     

CD4-induced T-20 binding to human immunodeficiency virus type 1 gp120 blocks interaction with the CXCR4 coreceptor

The synthetic peptide T-20, which corresponds to a sequence within the C-terminal heptad repeat region (HR2) of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) gp41 envelope glycoprotein, potently inhibits viral membrane fusion and entry. Although T-20 is thought to bind the N-terminal heptad repeat region (HR1) of gp41 and interfere with gp41 conformational changes required for membrane fusion, coreceptor specificity determined by the V3 loop of gp120 strongly influences the sensitivity of HIV-1 variants to T-20. Here, we show that T-20 binds to the gp120 glycoproteins of HIV-1 isolates that utilize CXCR4 as a coreceptor in a manner determined by the sequences of the gp120 V3 loop. T-20 binding to gp120 was enhanced in the presence of soluble CD4. Analysis of T-20 binding to gp120 mutants with variable loop deletions and the reciprocal competition of T-20 and particular anti-gp120 antibodies suggested that T-20 interacts with a gp120 region near the base of the V3 loop. Consistent with the involvement of this region in coreceptor binding, T-20 was able to block the interaction of gp120-CD4 complexes with the CXCR4 coreceptor. These results help to explain the increased sensitivity of CXCR4-specific HIV-1 isolates to the T-20 peptide. Interactions between the gp41 HR2 region and coreceptor-binding regions of gp120 may also play a role in the function of the HIV-1 envelope glycoproteins.     

Inhibition of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 gp120 presentation to CD4 T cells by antibodies specific for the CD4 binding domain of gp120

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-specific CD4 T-cell responses, particularly to the envelope glycoproteins of the virus, are weak or absent in most HIV-infected patients. Although these poor responses can be attributed simply to the destruction of the specific CD4 T cells by the virus, other factors also appear to contribute to the suppression of these virus-specific responses. We previously showed that human monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) specific for the CD4 binding domain of gp120 (gp120(CD4BD)), when complexed with gp120, inhibited the proliferative responses of gp120-specific CD4 T-cells. MAbs to other gp120 epitopes did not exhibit this activity. The present study investigated the inhibitory mechanisms of the anti-gp120(CD4BD) MAbs. The anti-gp120(CD4BD) MAbs complexed with gp120 suppressed gamma interferon production as well as proliferation of gp120-specific CD4 T cells. Notably, the T-cell responses to gp120 were inhibited only when the MAbs were added to antigen-presenting cells (APCs) during antigen pulse; the addition of the MAbs after pulsing caused no inhibition. However, the anti-gp120(CD4BD) MAbs by themselves, or as MAb/gp120 complexes, did not affect the presentation of gp120-derived peptides by the APCs to T cells. These MAb/gp120 complexes also did not inhibit the ability of APCs to process and present unrelated antigens. To test whether the suppressive effect of anti-gp120(CD4BD) antibodies is caused by the antibodies' ability to block gp120-CD4 interaction, APCs were treated during antigen pulse with anti-CD4 MAbs. These treated APCs remained capable of presenting gp120 to the T cells. These results suggest that anti-gp120(CD4BD) Abs inhibit gp120 presentation by altering the uptake and/or processing of gp120 by the APCs but their inhibitory activity is not due to blocking of gp120 attachment to CD4 on the surface of APCs.     

Use of Human CD4 Transgenic Mice for Studying Immunogenicity of HIV-1 Envelope Protein gp120

HIV-1 envelope protein, gp120, is a major immunogenic protein of the AIDS virus. A specific feature of this protein is its interaction with the receptor protein, human CD4, an important component of the immune system. This interaction might affect the immunogenic properties of the gp120 and modulate the immune response towards HIV. To test this hypothesis we used human CD4-transgenic mice for immunization with gp120. The dynamics of the immune response towards gp120, CD4 and other proteins was followed. The results show that the primary immune response to gp120 (two weeks) developed somewhat faster in CD4-transgenic mice versus non-transgenic mice. Both animals, however, ultimately mounted the same level of response over time. The primary immune response to gp120 when complexed with soluble CD4 before the immunization, developed similarly in both groups. The secondary immune response was earlier and markedly stronger in non-transgenic mice compared with the transgenic mice where a less efficient memory response to gp120 was observed. The ability of gp120 to directly interact with CD4+ helper lymphocytes appears to affect the humoral response towards this antigen. Moreover, these effects illustrate how viral modulation of these cells may in turn lead to potentially different states of immunological equilibrium.     

Molecular motions of human HIV-1 gp120 envelope glycoproteins

The HIV-1 gp120 exterior envelope glycoprotein undergoes a series of conformational rearrangements while sequentially interacting with the receptor CD4 and the coreceptor CCR5 or CXCR4 on the surface of host cells to initiate virus entry. Both the crystal structures of the HIV-1 gp120 core bound by CD4 and antigen 17b, and the SIV gp120 core pre-bound by CD4 are known. Despite the wealth of knowledge on these static snapshots of molecular conformations, the details of molecular motions crucial to intervention remain elusive. We presented a comprehensive comparative analysis of dynamic behavior of gp120 in its CD4-complexed, CD4-free and CD4-unliganded states based on the homology models with modeled V3 and V4 loops. CONCOORD computer simulation was utilized to generate ensembles of feasible protein structures, which were subsequently analyzed by essential dynamics technique to identify preferred concerted motions. The revealed collective fluctuations are dominated by complex motional modes such as rotation/twisting, flexing/closing, and shortness/elongation between or within the inner, outer, and bridging-sheet domains. An attempt has been made to relate these modes to receptor/coreceptor association and neutralization avoidance. Covariance web analysis revealed four subdomains that undergo concerted motion in gp120. The structural components in gp120 that move in concert with CD4 were also identified, which may be the suitable target for inhibitor design to interrupt CD4-gp120 interaction. The differences in B-factors between the three gp120 states revealed certain structural regions that could be related either to CD4 association or to subsequent dissociation of gp120 from gp41. These dynamics data provide new insights into the structure-function relationship of gp120 and may aid in structure-based anti-HIV vaccine design.     

Human glutaredoxin-1 catalyzes the reduction of HIV-1 gp120 and CD4 disulfides and its inhibition reduces HIV-1 replication

Reduction of intramolecular disulfides in the HIV-1 envelope protein gp120 occurs after its binding to the CD4 receptor. Protein disulfide isomerase (PDI) catalyzes the disulfide reduction in vitro and inhibition of this enzyme blocks viral entry. PDI belongs to the thioredoxin protein superfamily that also includes human glutaredoxin-1 (Grx1). Grx1 is secreted from cells and the protein has also been found within the HIV-1 virion. We show that Grx1 efficiently catalyzes gp120, and CD4 disulfide reduction in vitro, even at low plasma levels of glutathione. Grx1 catalyzes the reduction of two disulfide bridges in gp120 in a similar manner as PDI. Purified anti-Grx1 antibodies were shown to inhibit the Grx1 activity in vitro and block HIV-1 replication in cultured peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Also, the polyanion PRO2000, that was previously shown to prevent HIV entry, inhibits the Grx1- and PDI-dependent reduction of gp120 disulfides. Our findings suggest that Grx1 activity is important for HIV-1 entry and that Grx1 and the gp120 intramolecular disulfides are novel pharmacological targets for rational drug development.     

A Rationally Designed Synthetic Mimic of the Discontinuous CD4-Binding Site of HIV-1 gp120

Synthetic mimetics of the CD4-binding site of HIV-1 gp120 are promising candidates for HIV-1 entry inhibition, as well as immunogen candidates for the elicitation of virus-neutralizing antibodies. On the basis of the crystal structure of gp120 in complex with CD4, we have used a recently introduced strategy for the generation of structurally diverse scaffolds to design and synthesize a scaffolded peptide, in which three fragments, making up the sequentially discontinuous binding site of gp120 for CD4, are presented in a nonlinear and discontinuous fashion through a molecular scoffold, which restrains conformational flexibility. The affinities of this molecule to CD4, as well as to the broadly neutralizing antibody mAb b12, whose epitope overlaps the CD4-binding site of gp120, were determined in competitive binding assays.     

A rationally designed synthetic mimic of the discontinuous CD4-binding site of HIV-1 gp120

Synthetic mimetics of the CD4-binding site of HIV-1 gp120 are promising candidates for HIV-1 entry inhibition, as well as immunogen candidates for the elicitation of virus-neutralizing antibodies. On the basis of the crystal structure of gp120 in complex with CD4, we have used a recently introduced strategy for the generation of structurally diverse scaffolds to design and synthesize a scaffolded peptide, in which three fragments, making up the sequentially discontinuous binding site of gp120 for CD4, are presented in a nonlinear and discontinuous fashion through a molecular scoffold, which restrains conformational flexibility. The affinities of this molecule to CD4, as well as to the broadly neutralizing antibody mAb b12, whose epitope overlaps the CD4-binding site of gp120, were determined in competitive binding assays.     

Probing of CD4 binding pocket of HIV-1 gp120 glycoprotein using unnatural phenylalanine analogues

CD4-gp120 interaction is the first step for HIV-1 entry into host cells. A highly conserved pocket in gp120 protein is an attractive target for developing gp120 inhibitors or novel HIV detection tools. Here we incorporate seven phenylalanine derivatives having different sizes and steric conformations into position 43 of domain 1 of CD4 (mD1.2) to explore the architecture of the ‘Phe43 cavity’ of HIV-1 gp120. The results show that the conserved hydrophobic pocket in gp120 tolerates a hydrophobic side chain of residue 43 of CD protein, which is 12.2 Å in length and 8.0 Å in width. This result provides useful information for developing novel gp120 inhibitors or new HIV detection tools.