title: Direct evidence that C-peptide inhibitors of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 entry bind to the gp41 N-helical domain in receptor-activated viral envelope.
abstract: While it has been established that peptides modeling the C-helical region of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 gp41 are potent in vivo inhibitors of virus replication, their mechanism of action has yet to be determined. It has been proposed, but never directly demonstrated, that these peptides block virus entry by interacting with gp41 to disrupt the formation or function of a six-helix bundle structure. Using a six-helix bundle-specific monoclonal antibody with isolate-restricted Env reactivity, we provide the first direct evidence that, in receptor-activated viral Env, C-peptide entry inhibitors bind to the gp41 N-helical coiled-coil to form a peptide/protein hybrid structure and, in doing so, disrupt native six-helix bundle formation.
authors.affiliation: Panacos Pharmaceuticals Inc., Gaithersburg, Maryland 20877, USA.
authors.forename: Nicole R
authors.initials: NR
authors.lastname: Kilgore
authors.forename: Karl
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Salzwedel
authors.forename: Mary
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Reddick
authors.forename: Graham P
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Allaway
authors.forename: Carl T
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Wild
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D002096:C-Peptide / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology*; D015700:HIV Envelope Protein gp41 / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000502:physiology*; D008561:Membrane Fusion / Q000187:drug effects*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
chemical_list: D002096:C-Peptide; D015700:HIV Envelope Protein gp41