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

With the aim of generating a virus-cell system to introduce alterations in proteins of interest--which may be of use in studies of their biological functions--we established a persistent infection on a B-lymphoma cell line (A20.2J) with vaccinia virus (VV) recombinants. As a model, we used a vaccinia virus recombinant expressing the human immunodeficiency virus HIV-1 env gene. In this unique virus-cell system, we found that it is possible to introduce several structural and functional alterations in the env protein with passage numbers. From passage 10-20, two new env products emerged: an uncleaved gp160 and a glycoprotein fragment of 110 kDa. The uncleaved gp160 exhibit interesting properties as an immunogen. This protein forms stable oligomers, is not released from the cells, cannot fuse CD4+ presenting HeLa cells and activates a stronger cellular immune response than the parental cleaved env. In contrast, the 110 kDa product is a poor immunogen, since it lacks the gp41 domain, cannot form oligomers, accumulates intracellularly and cannot fuse CD4+ cells. In the persistently infected cells we have also found alterations in another heterologous protein-beta-galactosidase-a gene inserted in the same locus of VV as the env gene. This alteration resulted in a truncation of the (beta-galactosidase protein from 125 kDa to about 70 kDa. A similar size truncation of env and of beta-galactosidase was observed in many of the isolated VV recombinants.
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PMID:Use of persistent infections with vaccinia virus recombinants to introduce alterations in foreign proteins: an application to HIV-1 env protein. 902 76

In past years, much attention has been paid to the HIV-1 envelope (env) protein variable region 3 (V3), termed the principal neutralizing determinant. HIV-1 vaccines were often designed to target V3, and vaccine efficacy was often measured with V3-based assays. Thus, some disappointment resulted when volunteers in first clinical vaccine trials generated V3-specific antibodies that could not protect against V3-similar viruses. We describe an analysis of V1 and V2 sequence effects on antibody binding to V3 and non-V3 determinants. This study involved the preparation of seven full-length (gp160), chimeric env proteins in a vaccinia virus (VV) expression system. Chimeric proteins displayed different V1-V2 sequences but were otherwise identical. A panel of 12 monoclonal antibodies was then tested for binding activities toward the seven chimeras. Results showed that V1-V2 sequences affected antibody binding to env, both in V3 and non-V3 positions. These data demonstrate the enormous complexity of HIV-1 env protein conformation and antigenic determinants. Respect for the complexity of antibody-antigen interactions encourages the design of sophisticated immunoglobulin and protein cocktails for use in HIV-1 therapies and vaccines, respectively.
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PMID:Effect of natural HIV-1 envelope V1-V2 sequence diversity on the binding of V3-specific and non-V3-specific antibodies. 935

Although both HIV-1 subtypes B and E have been identified from infected individuals in Thailand, subtype E is the main form of HIV currently circulating in the country. Full-length gp160 sequences were obtained from 2 early seroconverters from northern Thailand in a study to learn more about the HIV-1 sequences currently being transmitted among recently infected individuals. Subject A01021 was a female prostitute who tested negative for antibodies to HIV-1 in April 1993, then positive in July 1993. Subject E11429 was a male military conscript who tested negative for antibodies to HIV-1 in May 1993, then positive in November 1993. Uncultured peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were collected from these two individuals in January 1994 and about 2500-bp segments containing the full-length gp160 gene were amplified by nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using the Expand high-fidelity PCR system. The nucleotide sequences of full-length gp120 from the subjects were subtype E based upon phylogenetic analysis. The gp120 sequences from the 2 seroconverters appeared more diverse than previously published subtype E HIV-1 sequences from Thailand. Overall, however, the subtype E HIV-1 gp120 sequences from Thailand were less diversified compared to the subtype E HIV-1 isolated from people with AIDS in the Central African Republic. Most of the observed amino acid variations were limited to the 5 variable regions in gp120. Therefore, vaccine strategies which elicit immune responses to the conserved regions of HIV-1 env protein will have a greater possibility of success.
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PMID:Diversity of full-length subtype E HIV type 1 env sequences in early seroconvertors from northern Thailand. 935 64

Intracellular expression of genes that inhibit key steps in the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1) replicative cycle could offer an alternative therapy for AIDS treatment. One of these approaches involves the inhibition of env protein maturation through the expression of CD4 molecules with added exogenous sequences that promote their retention in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). We have tested this strategy using a CD4 chimera (CD4epsilon10) containing an ER retention sequence derived from the TCR CD3-epsilon chain. Transfection of CD4epsilon10 in the human T cell line Jurkat made it resistant to infection with two different HIV-1 isolates, which was evaluated by measuring p24 antigen production, induction of apoptosis, and syncytia formation. Furthermore, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis of genomic DNA showed no traces of the proviral HIV-1 genome in CD4epsilon10-transfected cells, suggesting it was not maintained latently in these cells. To facilitate the delivery of the CD4epsilon10 chimera to primary cells from AIDS patients, a Moloney-based retroviral vector was constructed that expresses CD4epsilon10 under the transcriptional control of the HIV-1 long terminal repeat (LTR) promoter. Transduction of the MT-2 human T cell line with this vector rendered it resistant to infection with HIV-1 by a process that involved the inhibition of gp160 proteolytic processing. Finally, transduction of the CD4epsilon10 chimera into T lymphoblasts derived from asymptomatic HIV-infected individuals demonstrated a protective effect, resulting in both an increased cellular proliferation rate and an increased percentage of CD4+ cells. These results suggest that it is feasible to use retroviral transduction of CD4epsilon10 as a gene therapy approach for AIDS treatment.
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PMID:Retroviral vector-mediated expression in primary human T cells of an endoplasmic reticulum-retained CD4 chimera inhibits human immunodeficiency virus type-1 replication. 965 Jun 19

Processing of viral proteins for recognition by CTL involves degradation of the proteins in the cytosol of an infected cell followed by transport of the resulting peptides into the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) by the TAP1/2 complex. Uncertainty exists over the site of processing of viral envelope (env) proteins since the extracellular domains of env proteins are not present in the cytosol where the class I Ag-processing pathway begins. Rather, the ectodomains of env proteins are cotranslationally translocated into the ER during biosynthesis. To analyze env protein processing, we used the herpes simplex virus protein ICP47 to block peptide transport by TAP1/2 and examined the effects of TAP blockade on the processing of the HIV-1 env protein. For the majority of env-specific CD8+ CTL, the processing pathway required TAP1/2-mediated transport of cytosolic peptides into the ER. To determine how env peptides are generated in the cytosol, we analyzed the processing of two TAP1/2-dependent epitopes containing N-linked glycosylation sites. In each case, processing involved glycosylation-dependent posttranslational modification of asparagine residues to aspartic acid. These results are consistent with cotranslational translocation of env into the ER, where glycosylation occurs. This is followed by export of a fraction of the newly synthesized protein into the cytosol, where it is deglycosylated, with conversion of the asparagines to aspartic acid residues. Following cytoplasmic proteolysis, env peptides are retransported by TAP1/2 into the ER, where association with class I occurs. Thus, the env protein can enter the class I pathway through multiple distinct processing mechanisms.
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PMID:Processing of HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein for class I-restricted recognition: dependence on TAP1/2 and mechanisms for cytosolic localization. 997 86

With the aim to determine if immunization with two different live recombinant viral vectors could lead to an enhancement of the cellular immune response to HIV-1 antigens, we have characterized the CD8+ T cell response elicited against the V3 loop epitope from HIV-1 env protein in Balb/c mice immunized with either: a recombinant influenza virus (Flu-Env) expressing the V3 loop epitope from HIV-1 strain IIIB, a vaccinia virus recombinant (VV-Env) expressing the complete HIV-1-IIIB env protein, or a combination of both. The CD8+ T cell response, measured by the ELISPOT assay, in animals primed with Flu-Env and boosted with VV-Env was 5 to 6 times higher than in animals inoculated with either Flu-Env or VV-Env alone. Similar results were obtained with recombinant viruses expressing the V3 loop epitope or the complete env protein, respectively, from the MN strain of HIV-1. Our results indicate that the use of two different live vectors for priming and boosting has a synergistic effect on the immune response against HIV-1, and could represent a novel vaccination strategy against AIDS.
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PMID:Enhanced CD8+ T cell response to HIV-1 env by combined immunization with influenza and vaccinia virus recombinants. 1006 95

A survey of the patterns of synonymous codon preference in the HIV env gene reveals a correlation between the codon bias and the mutability requirements of different regions of the protein. At hypervariable regions in gp120 one finds a greater proportion of codons that tend to mutate nonsynonymously, but to a target that is similar in hydrophobicity and volume. We argue that this strategy results from a compromise between the selective pressure placed on the virus by the induced immune response, which favors amino acid substitutions in the complementarity determining regions, and the negative selection against missense mutations that violate structural constraints of the env protein.
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PMID:Codon bias and mutability in HIV sequences. 1007 77

Several chemokine receptors (CKRs) act as coreceptors of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1), type 2 (HIV-2) and simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV). These CKRs interact with the V3 domain of the envelope (env) protein of HIV/SIV. In this study, we found that the amino acid sequences of two chemokines (SDF-1beta and RANTES), whose receptors (CXCR4 and CCR5) act as major coreceptors for HIV-1, HIV-2 or SIV, showed statistically significant similarity to those of the region containing the third variable (V3) and the third conserved (C3) domains (the V3--C3 domain) of the env protein of HIV-1 and HIV-2. We made a multiple alignment of amino acid sequences for 24 chemokines and the region encompassing the second conserved (C2), V3 and C3 domains (the C2--V3--C3 region) of 10 strains of HIV/SIV. Surprisingly, the hydropathic profile and several important amino acids for protein conformation, such as cysteine and tryptophan, are remarkably conserved between chemokines and the V3--C3 region of HIV/SIV. Moreover, hydrophobic amino acids, such as leucine, isoleucine and valine, are found to be clustered both in the amino-terminal region of chemokines and the C2 domain of HIV/SIV. Thus, chemokines have significantly similar profiles of amino acid properties to those of the C2--V3--C3 region of the env protein of HIV/SIV. These findings raise a hypothesis that chemokines and the C2--V3--C3 region have a common origin. Namely, the HIV/SIV ancestor incorporated a chemokine gene into its env gene. The captured chemokine gene has rapidly diverged by frequent mutations specific to the retroviral genome, and thereby obtained the ability to interact with various CKRs in a short period of time. This paper proposes that the capture of a ligand gene of the host cells into the viral genome may be one of the important mechanisms of viral evolution to expand its host range and generate new viral species.
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PMID:How can human and simian immunodeficiency viruses utilize chemokine receptors as their coreceptors? 1116 77

Highly conserved amino acids in the N-terminal region of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) Pr55(gag) are recognized to be critical for the attachment of myristic acid. We previously reported that the env protein was not detected on the cell surface by blocking of N-myristoylation of Pr55(gag) with N-myristoyl glycinal diethylacetal. Here, we constructed a mutant by substituting the N-terminal glycine of Pr55(gag) with alanine to demonstrate that N-myristoylation of Pr55(gag) is required for efficient env protein transportation to the cell surface. The expression level of the env protein on the surface of Jurkat cells transfected with the myristoylation-defective phenotype was observed to be significantly reduced by electron microscopic analyses with a gold-labeled monoclonal antibody against the env protein. In addition, Jurkat cells transfected with the myristoylation-defective phenotype lost the ability of envelope-mediated cell-to-cell fusion. The results suggest that N-myristoylation of the HIV-1 gag protein is necessary for efficient env protein transportation to the cell surface.
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PMID:Myristoylation of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 gag protein is required for efficient env protein transportation to the surface of cells. 1130 43

The mechanism of infectivity neutralization of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) by Ig is poorly understood. Three human monoclonal antibodies (mAbs 1b12, 2G12 and 2F5) that are able to neutralize primary isolates of HIV-1 in vitro have been shown to act synergistically. In the present study this synergy was analyzed by measuring the epitope accessibility and binding kinetics for these three mAbs with respect to monomeric and oligomeric env protein gp160 IIIB using surface plasmon resonance. The results indicate that oligomerization of gp160 affects the accessibility of some of the epitopes recognized by the mAbs and provide some insight into the mechanism of synergy between different anti-(HIV-1) mAbs.
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PMID:Differential recognition of epitopes present on monomeric and oligomeric forms of gp160 glycoprotein of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 by human monoclonal antibodies. 1135 1


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