Scaleable manufacture of HIV-1 entry inhibitor griffithsin and validation of its safety and efficacy as a topical microbicide component.

ABSTRACT: To prevent sexually transmitted HIV, the most desirable active ingredients of microbicides are antiretrovirals (ARVs) that directly target viral entry and avert infection at mucosal surfaces. However, most promising ARV entry inhibitors are biologicals, which are costly to manufacture and deliver to resource-poor areas where effective microbicides are urgently needed. Here, we report a manufacturing breakthrough for griffithsin (GRFT), one of the most potent HIV entry inhibitors. This red algal protein was produced in multigram quantities after extraction from Nicotiana benthamiana plants transduced with a tobacco mosaic virus vector expressing GRFT. Plant-produced GRFT (GRFT-P) was shown as active against HIV at picomolar concentrations, directly virucidal via binding to HIV envelope glyc

SUBMITTER: O'Keefe BR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2662964 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature