Protein Engineering Design and Selection · 2008 · 23 citations · 1 references
Functional SelectivityMedicineDrug DiscoveryMip-1 /Ccl4Key Anti-hiv StructureHiv InfectionMolecular BiologyMip-1beta/ccl4 AnaloguesHuman RetrovirusAntiviral ResponseAntiviral Drug DevelopmentNon-peptide LigandHivAntiviral DrugPharmacologyAntiviral CompoundHiv Coreceptor Ccr5Biomolecular Engineering
The HIV coreceptor CCR5 is a validated target for both the prevention and therapy of HIV infection. PSC-RANTES, an N-terminally modified analogue of one of the natural chemokine ligands of CCR5 (RANTES/CCL5), is a potent inhibitor of HIV entry into target cells. Here, we set out to engineer the anti-HIV activity of PSC-RANTES into another natural CCR5 ligand (MIP-1beta/CCL4), by grafting into it the key N-terminal pharmacophore region from PSC-RANTES. We were able to identify MIP-1beta/CCL4 analogues that retain the receptor binding profile of MIP-1beta/CCL4, but acquire the very high anti-HIV potency and characteristic inhibitory mechanism of PSC-RANTES. Unexpectedly, we discovered that in addition to N-terminal structures from PSC-RANTES, the side chain of Lys33 is also necessary for full anti-HIV potency.
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