title: A novel modified peptide derived from membrane-proximal external region of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 envelope significantly enhances retrovirus infection.
abstract: Efficient gene transfer is a critical goal in retroviral transduction. Several peptides capable of forming amyloid fibrils, such as the 39-residue semen-derived infection-enhancing peptide (SEVI), have demonstrated the ability to boost retroviral gene delivery. Here, a 13-residue peptide P13 (Ac-(671) NWFDITNWLWYIK(683)) derived from the membrane-proximal external region of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) gp41 transmembrane protein, together with its 16-residue peptide derivative (P16) were found to enhance HIV-1 infection significantly. Both peptides, P13 and P16, could form amyloid fibril structures to potently enhance HIV-1 infectivity. Further investigations showed that both aromatic Trp residues and cationic Lys residues contributed to the enhancement of HIV-1 infection by these two active peptides. P16 could more effectively augment HIV-1 YU-2 infection than SEVI, implying its potential applications as a tool in the lab to improve gene transfer rates.
authors.affiliation: National Engineering Laboratory for AIDS Vaccine, College of Life Science, Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin, China.
authors.forename: Lishuang
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Chunlai
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.forename: Huayan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Gong
authors.forename: Lan
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Liang
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Miao
authors.forename: Yuhua
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Kong
authors.forename: Chuntao
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Yaming
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shan
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000682:Amyloid / Q000737:chemistry; D002460:Cell Line; D015700:HIV Envelope Protein gp41 / Q000737:chemistry*; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D014161:Transduction, Genetic; D053585:Virus Attachment / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D000682:Amyloid; D015700:HIV Envelope Protein gp41; D010446:Peptide Fragments
keywords: HIV-1 infection enhancement; MPER-based peptides; aromatic; cationic; retroviral transduction