title: The minimal fusion peptide of simian immunodeficiency virus corresponds to the 11 first residues of gp32.
abstract: We had previously predicted successfully the minimal fusion peptides (FPs) of the human immunodeficiency virus 1 (HIV-1) gp41 and the bovine leukemia virus (BLV) gp30 using an original approach based on the obliquity/fusogenicity relationship of tilted peptides. In this paper, we have used the same method to predict the shortest FP capable of inducing optimal fusion in vitro of the simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) mac isolate and of other SIVs and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-2) isolates. In each case, the 11-residue-long peptide was predicted as the minimal FP. For the SIV mac isolate, liposome lipid-mixing and leakage assays confirmed that this peptide is the shortest peptide inducing optimal fusion in vitro, being therefore the minimal FP. These results are another piece of evidence that the tilted properties of FPs are important for the fusion process and that our method can be used to predict the minimal FPs of other viruses.
authors.affiliation: Gembloux Agricultural University, Centre de Biophysique Moléculaire Numérique, 2 Passage des déportés, B-5030 Gembloux, Belgium.
authors.forename: Aurélien
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lorin
authors.forename: Laurence
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lins
authors.forename: Vincent
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Stroobant
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Brasseur
authors.forename: Benoit
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Charloteaux
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D003198:Computer Simulation; D015686:Gene Products, env / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000302:isolation & purification; D015498:HIV-2 / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006801:Humans; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D008081:Liposomes / Q000737:chemistry; D008561:Membrane Fusion; D008823:Micelles; D008958:Models, Molecular; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D019906:Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, Biomolecular; D010455:Peptides / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics; D010713:Phosphatidylcholines / Q000737:chemistry; D010718:Phosphatidylserines / Q000737:chemistry; D011487:Protein Conformation; D017433:Protein Structure, Secondary; D015682:Retroviridae Proteins, Oncogenic / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics; D012967:Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate / Q000737:chemistry; D014760:Viral Fusion Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D015686:Gene Products, env; D008081:Liposomes; D008823:Micelles; D010455:Peptides; D010713:Phosphatidylcholines; D010718:Phosphatidylserines; D015682:Retroviridae Proteins, Oncogenic; D014760:Viral Fusion Proteins; C059580:transmembrane protein, Simian immunodeficiency virus; D012967:Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate