1. Conserved structural elements in the V3 crown of HIV-1 gp120.
- Author
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Xunqing Jiang, Burke, Valicia, Totrov, Maxim, Williams, Constance, Cardozo, Timothy, Gorny, Miroslaw K., Zolla-Pazner, Susan, and Xiang-Peng Kong
- Subjects
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AIDS vaccines , *EPITOPES , *GLYCOPROTEINS , *NUCLEOTIDE sequence , *MONOCLONAL antibodies , *CARRIER proteins - Abstract
Binding of the third variable region (V3) of the HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein gp120 to the cell-surface coreceptors CCR5 or CXCR4 during viral entry suggests that there are conserved structural elements in this sequence-variable region. These conserved elements could serve as epitopes to be targeted by a vaccine against HIV-1. Here we perform a systematic structural analysis of representative human anti-V3 monoclonal antibodies in complex with V3 peptides, revealing that the crown of V3 has four conserved structural elements: an arch, a band, a hydrophobic core and the peptide backbone. These are either unaffected by or are subject to minimal sequence variation. As these regions are targeted by cross-clade neutralizing human antibodies, they provide a blueprint for the design of vaccine immunogens that could elicit broadly cross-reactive protective antibodies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2010
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