This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. Sulfated tyrosines at the amino terminus of the principal HIV-1 coreceptor CCR5 play acritical role in its ability to bind the HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein gp120 and mediate HIV- 1 entry. Human antibodies that recognize the CCR5-binding region of gp120 are also modified by tyrosine sulfation, which is necessary for their ability to neutralize HIV-1. Here we demonstrate that a sulfated peptide derived from the CDR3 region of one of these antibodies, E51, can efficiently bind gp120. Association of this peptide, pE51, with gp120 requires tyrosine sulfation, and is enhanced by, but not dependent on, CD4. Alteration of any of four pE51 tyrosines, or alteration of gp120residues 420, 421, or 422?critical for association with CCR5?prevents gp120 association with pE51. pE51 neutralizes HIV-1 more effectively than peptides based on the CCR5 amino terminus, and may be useful as a fusion partner with other protein inhibitors of HIV-1 entry. Our data provide further insight into the association of the CCR5 amino terminus with gp120, show that a conserved, sulfate-binding region of gp120 is accessible to inhibitors in the absence of CD4, and suggest that soluble mimetics of CCR5 can be more effective than previously appreciated.
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