A high throughput Cre-lox activated viral membrane fusion assay identifies pharmacological inhibitors of HIV entry.

ABSTRACT: Enveloped virus entry occurs when viral and cellular membranes fuse releasing particle contents into the target cell. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) entry occurs by cell-free virus or virus transferred between infected and uninfected cells through structures called virological synapses. We developed a high-throughput cell-based assay to identify small molecule inhibitors of cell-free or virological synapse-mediated entry. An HIV clone carrying Cre recombinase as a Gag-internal gene fusion releases active Cre into cells upon viral entry activating a recombinatorial gene switch changing dsRed to GFP-expression. A screen of a 1998 known-biological profile small molecule library identified pharmacological HIV entry inhibitors that block both cell-free and cell-to-cell infection. Many top h

SUBMITTER: Esposito AM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5019951 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature