Design of a Bispecific HIV Entry Inhibitor Targeting the Cell Receptor CD4 and Viral Fusion Protein Gp41

Autor: Hongxia Yan, Tong Wu, Yue Chen, Hongliang Jin, Li Li, Yuanmei Zhu, Huihui Chong, Yuxian He
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2022
Předmět:
Zdroj: Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology, Vol 12 (2022)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 2235-2988
DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2022.916487
Popis: Given the high variability and drug-resistance problem by human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1), the development of bispecific or multi-specific inhibitors targeting different steps of HIV entry is highly appreciated. We previously generated a very potent short-peptide–based HIV fusion inhibitor 2P23. In this study, we designed and characterized a bifunctional inhibitor termed 2P23-iMab by genetically conjugating 2P23 to the single-chain variable fragment (scFv) of ibalizumab (iMab), a newly approved antibody drug targeting the cell receptor CD4. As anticipated, 2P23-iMab could bind to the cell membrane through CD4 anchoring and inhibit HIV-1 infection as well as viral Env-mediated cell–cell fusion efficiently. When tested against a large panel of HIV-1 pseudoviruses with different subtypes and phenotypes, 2P23-iMab exhibited dramatically improved inhibitory activity than the parental inhibitors; especially, it potently inhibited the viruses not being susceptible to iMab. Moreover, 2P23-iMab had a dramatically increased potency in inhibiting two panels of HIV-1 mutants that are resistant to T-20 or 2P23 and the infections of HIV-2 and simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV). In conclusion, our studies have provided new insights into the design of novel bispecific HIV entry inhibitors with highly potent and broad-spectrum antiviral activity.
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