The tripeptide glycyl-prolyl-glycine amide does not affect the early steps of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 replication.
OBJECTIVE
To determine whether the peptide glycyl-prolyl-glycine amide (GPG-NH2) corresponding to a conserved motif in the tip of the third hypervariable region of gp120 affected the early events in the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) replication.


METHODS
Glycyl-prolyl-glycine amide was tested for its effect on HIV-1 adsorption, co-receptor usage, proviral DNA synthesis, messenger RNA (mRNA) synthesis and splicing, translation, tat/TAR transactivation, and virus protease activity.


RESULTS
Glycyl-prolyl-glycine amide did not appear to affect the early events of the virus replication. HIV-1 having glycine-leucine-glycine instead of GPG in the V3 loop and the mutants deleted of the GPG motif were still inhibited by the peptide. Glycyl-prolyl-glycine-NH2 had no discernible effect on any of the other steps in the virus replication cycle tested. The only effect observed was an increased sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide amide gel electrophoresis mobility of gp160/120 at high concentrations of GPG-NH2.


CONCLUSIONS
The tripeptide GPG-NH2 is a nontoxic compound that inhibits the replication of HIV-1 by an apparently new mode of action.
Su
J
J
Division of Clinical Virology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Naghavi
M H
MH
Jejcic
A
A
Horal
P
P
Furuta
Y
Y
Wu
Y P
YP
Li
S L
SL
Hall
W W
WW
Goobar-Larsson
L
L
Svennerholm
B
B
Vahlne
A
A
D000577:Amides / Q000494:pharmacology*; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000378:metabolism; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000096:biosynthesis; D015870:Gene Expression; D015686:Gene Products, env / Q000235:genetics; D015683:Gene Products, gag / Q000235:genetics; D015696:Gene Products, tat / Q000378:metabolism; D016655:HIV Core Protein p24 / Q000032:analysis; D015699:HIV Envelope Protein gp120 / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology; D016325:HIV Long Terminal Repeat; D016333:HIV Protease / Q000378:metabolism; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism / Q000821:virology; D009842:Oligopeptides / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology; D012367:RNA, Viral; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D015533:Transcriptional Activation; D014779:Virus Replication / Q000187:drug effects*; D054322:tat Gene Products, Human Immunodeficiency Virus
D000577:Amides; D004279:DNA, Viral; D015686:Gene Products, env; D015683:Gene Products, gag; D015696:Gene Products, tat; D016655:HIV Core Protein p24; D015699:HIV Envelope Protein gp120; C059762:HIV envelope protein gp120 (305-321); D009842:Oligopeptides; D010446:Peptide Fragments; D012367:RNA, Viral; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; D054322:tat Gene Products, Human Immunodeficiency Virus; D016333:HIV Protease