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- Cena-Diez, Rafael, et al.
(author)
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Naturally occurring dipeptide from elite controllers with dual anti-HIV-1 mechanism
- 2023
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In: International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents. - : Elsevier BV. - 0924-8579 .- 1872-7913. ; 61:5, s. 106792-
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Enhanced levels of a dipeptide, WC-am, have been reported among elite controllers - patients who spontaneously control their HIV-1 infection. This study aimed to evaluate anti-HIV-1 activity and mechanism of action of WC-am.Methods: Drug sensitivity assays in TZM.bl cells, PBMCs and ACH-2 cells using WT and mutated HIV-1 strains were performed to evaluate the antiviral mechanism of WC-am. Mass spectrometry-based proteomics and Real-time PCR analysis of reverse transcription steps were performed to unravel the second anti-HIV-1 mechanism of WC-am.Results: The data suggest that WC-am binds to the CD4 binding pocket of HIV-1 gp120 and blocks its binding to the host cell receptors. Additionally, the time course assay showed that WC-am also inhibited HIV-1 at 4-6 hours post-infection, suggesting a second antiviral mechanism. Drug sensitivity assays under acidic wash conditions confirmed the ability of WC-am to internalise into the host cell in an HIV independent manner. Proteomic studies showed a clustering of all samples treated with WC-am independent of the number of doses or presence or absence of HIV-1. Differentially expressed proteins due to the WC-am treatment indicated an effect on HIV-1 reverse transcription, which was confirmed by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).Conclusion: Naturally occurring in HIV-1 elite controllers, WC-am stands out as a new kind of antiviral compound with two independent inhibitory mechanisms of action on HIV-1 replication. WC-am halts HIV-1 entry to the host cell by binding to HIV-1 gp120, thereby blocking the binding of HIV-1 to the host cell. WC-am also exerts a post-entry but pre-integration antiviral effect related to RT-activity.
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| 2. |
- Zhang, Wang, et al.
(author)
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Transcriptomics and Targeted Proteomics Analysis to Gain Insights Into the Immune-control Mechanisms of HIV-1 Infected Elite Controllers
- 2018
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In: EBioMedicine. - : ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV. - 2352-3964. ; 27, s. 40-50
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- A small subset of HIV-1 infected individuals, the "Elite Controllers" (EC), can control viral replication and restrain progression to immunodeficiency without antiretroviral therapy (ART). In this study, a cross-sectional transcriptomics and targeted proteomics analysis were performed in a well-defined Swedish cohort of untreated EC (n = 19), treatment naive patients with viremia (VP, n = 32) and HIV-1-negative healthy controls (HC, n = 23). The blood transcriptome identified 151 protein-coding genes that were differentially expressed (DE) in VP compared to EC. Genes like CXCR6 and SIGLEC1were downregulated in EC compared to VP. A definite distinction in gene expression between males and females among all patient-groups were observed. The gene expression profile between female EC and the healthy females was similar but did differ between male EC and healthy males. At targeted proteomics analysis, 90% (29/32) of VPs clustered together while EC and HC clustered separately from VP. Among the soluble factors, 33 were distinctive to be statistically significant (False discovery rate = 0.02). Cell surface receptor signaling pathway, programmed cell death, response to cytokine and cytokine-mediated signaling seem to synergistically play an essential role in HIV-1 control in EC.
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