title: Subunit stoichiometry of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 envelope glycoprotein trimers during virus entry into host cells.
abstract: The envelope glycoproteins of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) function as a homotrimer of gp120/gp41 heterodimers to support virus entry. During the process of virus entry, an individual HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein trimer binds the cellular receptors CD4 and CCR5/CXCR4 and mediates the fusion of the viral and the target cellular membranes. By studying the function of heterotrimers between wild-type and nonfunctional mutant envelope glycoproteins, we found that two wild-type subunits within an envelope glycoprotein trimer are required to support virus entry. Complementation between HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein mutants defective in different functions to allow virus entry was not evident. These results assist our understanding of the mechanisms whereby the HIV-1 envelope glycoproteins mediate virus entry and membrane fusion and guide attempts to inhibit these processes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cancer Immunology and AIDS, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, 44 Binney Street, JFB 824, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA. xinzhen_yang@dfci.harvard.edu
authors.forename: Xinzhen
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Svetla
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kurteva
authors.forename: Xinping
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Ren
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Joseph
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sodroski
mesh_terms: D002460:Cell Line; D015699:HIV Envelope Protein gp120 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D019302:HIV Envelope Protein gp160 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D015700:HIV Envelope Protein gp41 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008561:Membrane Fusion / Q000502:physiology*; D008954:Models, Biological; D009154:Mutation / Q000235:genetics; D011485:Protein Binding; D021122:Protein Subunits / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D015699:HIV Envelope Protein gp120; D019302:HIV Envelope Protein gp160; D015700:HIV Envelope Protein gp41; D021122:Protein Subunits