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Query: UMLS:C0019693 (HIV)
 170,526 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

We describe the development and structural requirements of a new lipophilic multiple antigen peptide (lipoMAP) system for immunogens that contains a built-in lipophilic adjuvant and has the ability to elicit cytotoxic T-lymphocytes (CTLs). In addition to the peptide antigens of choice at the amino terminus, the basic lipoMAP design consists of three components: a tetravalent symmetrical core matrix containing two levels of branching beta-alanyl-lysine as a building unit, a hydrophilic Ser-Ser dipeptide linker, and at the carboxyl terminus, palmitoyl lysines (PL) with alternating chirality. An 18-residue peptide from the third variable region in the gp120 of HIV-1 was used as antigen in eight models for a structure-function study. Alternating palmitoyl lysine (PL) was introduced as the lipid anchor and built-in adjuvant because D and L Lys (Pal) was found via molecular modeling to best mimic phosphatidylcholine and thus provide the most stable peptide antigens on the ordered lipid membranes. The requirements of the palmitoyl lysines and the L-Ser-L-Ser linker were crucial, since replacement with palmitoyl serines or L-Ser-D-Ser linkers led to a marked decrease in immune response. The stoichimetric ratio of PL vs MAP was also important. Multiple antigen peptide (MAP) constructs without the lipophilic PLs, those that were underlipidated and contained one PL, or those that were overlipidated containing four PLs, were ineffective. LipoMAPs containing three palmitic acids elicited significant humoral responses in oil-based emulsion and liposomes, but not in water or alum formulations. LipoMAP containing only two PLs was found best to be incorporated in liposomes and elicited a significant immune response and cytotoxic T-lymphocytes (CTLs). These models were compared favorably with a preparation using tripalmitoyl-S-glyceryl cysteine (P3C) as the lipid anchor. We also developed a modular synthesis of MAP-P3C that incorporated P3C as a premade unit containing a thiopyridine, which simplified the overall scheme and minimized oxidation during stepwise peptide synthesis. This lipoMAP model is a new addition to the design of our macromolecular assemblage approach mimicking peptide antigens on the surface of micro-organisms. It may be a potentially useful approach to the design of a synthetic vaccine for humans.
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PMID:Lipophilic multiple antigen peptide system for peptide immunogen and synthetic vaccine. 793 6

Even a moderate increase in the cellular cysteine supply elevates the intracellular glutathione (GSH) and glutathione disulfide (GSSG) levels and potentiates immunological functions of lymphocytes in vitro. At low GSSG levels, T cells cannot optimally activate the immunologically important transcription factor NF kappa B, whereas high GSSG levels inhibit the DNA binding activity of NF kappa B. The effects of GSSG are antagonized by reduced thioredoxin (TRX). As the protein tyrosine kinase activities p56lck and p59fyn are activated in intact cells by hydrogen peroxide, they are likely targets for GSSG action. These redox-regulated enzymes trigger signal cascades for NF kappa B activation and transduce signals from the T cell antigen receptor, from CD4 and CD8 molecules, and from the IL-2 receptor beta-chain. The effector phase of cytotoxic T cell responses and IL-2-dependent functions are inhibited even by a partial depletion of the intracellular GSH pool. As signal transduction is facilitated by prooxidant conditions, we propose that the well-known immunological consequences of GSH depletion ultimately may be results of the accompanying GSSG deficiency. As HIV-infected patients and SIV-infected rhesus macaques have, on the average, significantly decreased plasma cyst(e)ine and intracellular GSH levels, we also hypothesize that AIDS may be the consequence of a GSSG deficiency as well.
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PMID:Functions of glutathione and glutathione disulfide in immunology and immunopathology. 795 18

N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC) has been proposed as a therapeutic agent for AIDS patients because it reduces human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) replication in stimulated T cells. However, NAC and glutathione enhanced acute HIV-1 replication in monocyte-derived macrophages. Buthionine sulfoximine did not affect NAC-mediated enhanced HIV-1 replication, indicating that the NAC-mediated effects are glutathione-independent. Superoxide dismutase and the hydroxyl radical scavengers dimethylthiourea and thiourea, but not urea, inhibited acute HIV-1 replication in macrophages. NAC reduced ferricytochrome c and increased dose-dependently Fe(III)-citrate and Fe(III)-EDTA-catalyzed hydroxyl radical formation in a system using glucose and glucose oxidase. Dimethylthiourea and thiourea, but not urea and superoxide dismutase, dose-dependently inhibited NAC-mediated enhancement of HIV-1 replication. These data suggest that oxygen radicals play an important role in self-sustained HIV-1 replication in macrophages and that oxygen radical scavengers other than NAC should be considered as therapeutic agents for AIDS patients.
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PMID:Role for oxygen radicals in self-sustained HIV-1 replication in monocyte-derived macrophages: enhanced HIV-1 replication by N-acetyl-L-cysteine. 799 46

We encountered a case of HIV-1 infection in a previously healthy man, which was characterized by rapid progression to AIDS and death within 7 months in association with high levels of antigenemia throughout the clinical course and no humoral immune response for at least 6 months. Genetic changes of the third variable domain (V3) of the envelope gene of HIV-1 in serum samples were analyzed at four time points during his rapid clinical course. The nucleotide changes were confined to a maximum of three substitutions among 105 nucleotides of the V3 region. A major population of the viral clones in this patient showed one amino acid substitution from aspartic acid (a negatively charged amino acid) to lysine (a positively charged amino acid) at position 30 from the first cysteine of the V3 loop. This substitution was thought to be associated with phenotypic changes, and viruses with this sequence in the V3 region had a strong syncytium-inducing ability in MT-4 cells. It appears that the lack of a humoral immune response accelerated disease progression in our patient and a genetic change that appeared to produce a phenotypic change occurred at an early stage of the disease.
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PMID:Genetic analysis of HIV-1 during rapid progression to AIDS in an apparently healthy man. 801 87

The protease encoded by the human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) is essential for the processing of viral polyproteins into mature viral proteins. The 99-residue protease from HIV-1 contains two generally conserved cysteine residues, one of which (Cys-67) is located on the solvent-exposed surface. It was shown previously that Cys-67 of the native enzyme reacted with 5,5'-dithiobis-(2-nitrobenzoic acid) (DTNB, Ellman's reagent) at pH 6.2, causing a reversible inactivation of the protease. However, there was no reaction when the protein was denatured in 6 M guanidine hydrochloride, implying that the native conformation rendered Cys-67 more reactive. To investigate the structural basis of the lowered pKa in the native protein, we synthesized a 17-residue peptide matching the sequence of residues 59-75. The reactivity of this synthetic peptide with DTNB mimicked that of the protease, being more reactive in the absence of 6 M guanidine hydrochloride than in its presence. It was possible that His-69 or Lys-70 could facilitate ionization of the SH group of Cys-67, which is required for reaction with DTNB. Apparently both residues are important, because increased reactivity of the native peptide was eliminated when either His-69 or Lys-70 were changed to Ala. Replacement of His-69 by Glu reversed the reactivity, so that the native peptide was less reactive than that denatured in guanidine hydrochloride. Thus, the reactivity of Cys-67 is modulated by the charges on residues 69 and 70 in the protein. The presence of His-69 and Lys-70 renders the native protease especially susceptible to oxidation and disulfide formation. The resulting reversible inactivation of the protease may be important in the normal regulation of the viral life cycle, a suggestion supported by the strong conservation of the residues in this region.
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PMID:Reactivity of cysteine-67 of the human immunodeficiency virus-1 protease: studies on a peptide spanning residues 59 to 75. 805 89

A combination of saturation and site-directed mutagenesis was utilized to disrupt the alpha 2 domain disulfide bridge of HLA-A*0201. Mutation of cysteine 101 to a serine (C101S) or of cysteine 164 to alanine (C164A) decreased the rate of maturation of the heavy chain, the total amount of mature heavy chain within the cell, and the level of surface expression. Cells expressing these genes and loaded with a synthetic peptide derived from the influenza A matrix protein (58-66) were recognized poorly by HLA-A*0201-restricted, peptide-specific CTLs. Cells expressing mutant HLA-A*0201 loaded with a synthetic peptide derived from the HIV-1 pol protein (476-484) were not recognized by pol IV-9-specific CTLs. Mutant C164A cells infected with influenza virus were partially recognized by influenza matrix peptide-specific CTLs, while C101S cells were not lysed. Surprisingly, endogenous peptide loading of cells expressing mutant HLA-A*0201 using a minigene coding for either the influenza A matrix peptide 58-66, or HIV-1 pol peptide 476-484, resulted in efficient CTL recognition. This suggests different structural constraints for peptide binding in the endoplasmic reticulum during biosynthesis and for binding to exported molecules on the cells surface.
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PMID:Mutation of the alpha 2 domain disulfide bridge of the class I molecule HLA-A*0201. Effect on maturation and peptide presentation. 807 Nov 1

This report investigates the generation of cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) by in vivo administration of a synthetic antigen linked to a lipid moiety, tripalmitoyl-S-glyceryl cysteine (P3C). The antigen consisted of a 17-mer peptide, derived from the gp120 envelope protein of the human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1), in a tetravalent multiple antigenic peptide (MAP) configuration. A single injection of MAP-P3C elicited a long-lasting CTL response in mice. The route of administration was not a determining factor, since intravenous (i.v.) and intraperitoneal (i.p.) priming were both effective. The HIV strain-specific cytotoxic lymphocytes were of the CD8+ subset and class I restricted. A broad cytolytic activity could be achieved by priming with a mixture of homologous peptides from gp120 IIIB and MN strains. Following the administration of the monoclonal antibody GK1.5, resulting in the depletion of the CD4+ T-lymphocyte subpopulation, mice were able to mount a strong CTL response. This finding demonstrates that in priming with a peptide antigen covalently linked to a lipid, such as MAP-P3C, CD4+ cells are not required for the generation of CD8+ cytotoxicity. In contrast, the elimination of macrophages by the carrageenan pretreatment caused suppression of the T-cell lytic activity, suggesting a substantial contribution of the phagocytic cells in mounting CTL response. Taken together, these results may lead to new strategies in designing a human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1) vaccine based on synthetic peptides.
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PMID:Cellular immune responses induced by in vivo priming with a lipid-conjugated multimeric antigen peptide. 810 82

A BK virus (BKV) expression vector, specific for human cells, was engineered to express antisense human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) tat cDNA (tat-AS) or a tat mutant in cysteine 22 (tat22). Cysteine residues in the cysteine-rich domain of tat are necessary for tat transactivation of the HIV-1 long terminal repeat (LTR). Both the AS tat and the tat mutant significantly inhibited transactivation by tat when assayed in cells cotransfected with an expression vector where the reporter gene for chloramphenicol acetyl transferase was driven by the HIV-1 LTR. Infection of Jurkat cell clones stably expressing tat22 (Jurkat/tat22) or tat-AS (Jurkat/tat-AS) with HIV-1 did not show differences in virus titer in comparison to HIV-1-infected control cells. However, in two Jurkat/tat22 cell clones, entrance of HIV-1 into latency was accelerated significantly and reactivation of HIV-1 from latency induced by tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) or tat was blocked. These results suggest that, in a combined and integrated approach to the treatment of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), anti-tat genetic therapy could be successfully applied to maintain virus in latency, thereby extending the duration of the asymptomatic phase preceding full-blown AIDS.
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PMID:Inhibition of human immunodeficiency virus reactivation from latency by a tat transdominant negative mutant. 810 62

The infectivity factor of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1), Vif, contains two cysteine residues which are highly conserved among animal lentiviruses. We introduced substitutions of leucine for cysteine residues in the vif gene of a full-length HIV-1 clone to analyze their roles in viral infection. Mutant viruses containing substitutions in either Cys-114, Cys-133, or both displayed a vif-negative infection phenotype similar to that of an isogeneic vif deletion mutant, namely, a cell-dependent complete to partial loss of infectivity. The vif defect could be complemented by cotransfection of mutant viral DNA with a Vif expression vector, and there was no evidence that recombination contributed to the repair of the vif deficiency. The viral protein profile, as determined by immunoblotting, in cells infected with cysteine substitution mutants and that in wild-type virus were similar, including the presence of the 23-kDa Vif polypeptide. In addition, immunoblotting with an antiserum directed against the carboxyl terminus of gp41 revealed that gp41 was intact in cells infected with either wild-type or vif mutant HIV-1, excluding that Vif cleaves the C terminus of gp41. Our results indicate that the cysteines in HIV-1 Vif are critical for Vif function in viral infectivity.
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PMID:Cysteine residues in the Vif protein of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 are essential for viral infectivity. 810 32

To investigate the role played by the cytoplasmic domain of the CD4 glycoprotein in the process of HIV infection, we have transfected two CD4-negative human T cell lines with cDNAs encoding the full-length CD4 and a truncated form of the molecule, lacking most of the cytoplasmic domain. Levels of viral replication were significantly higher in cells carrying the truncated version of CD4, in comparison with cells expressing the full-length CD4, as measured by the percentage of cells expressing viral p24 protein and the number of infectious particles released into culture supernatants. The extent of viral entry and reverse transcription was similar in each case, as monitored by an enzymatic test and quantitative PCR. Quantitative differences at RNA and protein levels were responsible for changes in viral production. To further characterize the mechanisms responsible for decreased rates of HIV replication in CD4-expressing cells we have treated the different cell lines, very early after HIV infection, with azidothymidine and soluble CD4, two antiviral agents that inhibit replication of HIV at different stages in the virus replicative cycle. Results from these experiments indicate that a cellular signal is mediated by the CD4 molecule, which negatively regulates the expression of viral DNA already present in such cells. This signal would be initiated following oligomerization of the CD4 molecule by the virus itself. Results from experiments with a CD4 construct containing mutations of the cysteine residues which are responsible for association of CD4 with p56lck demonstrate that p56lck is implicated in the transduction of the signal negatively regulating HIV replication.
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PMID:Association of p56lck with the cytoplasmic domain of CD4 modulates HIV-1 expression. 811 93


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