Convergent HIV-1 Evolution upon Targeted Destabilization of the gp120-gp41 Interface.

ABSTRACT: The HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein (Env) trimer is responsible for viral entry into target cells and is the sole target of neutralizing antibodies. The Env protein is therefore the focus of HIV-1 vaccine design. Env consists of two noncovalently linked subunits (gp120 and gp41) that form a trimer of heterodimers and this 6-subunit complex is metastable and conformationally flexible. Several approaches have been pursued to stabilize the Env trimer for vaccine purposes, which include structure-based design, high-throughput screening, and selection by mammalian cell display. Here, we employed directed virus evolution to improve Env trimer stability. Accordingly, we deliberately destabilized the Env gp120-gp41 interface by mutagenesis in the context of replicating HIV-1 LAI virus and virus evolut

SUBMITTER: Torrents de la Pena A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8610599 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature