Anti-human Immunodeficiency Virus-1 Constituents of the Bark of Poncirus trifoliata

A total of 36 compounds (1-36) were obtained from the stem bark of Poncirus trifoliata including three new prenylated flavonoids, (-)-5,4'-dihydroxy-7,8-[(3 '',4 ''-cis-dihydroxy-3 '',4 ''-dihydro)-2 '',2 ''-dimethylpyrano]-flavone (1), (-)-5,4'-dihydroxy-7,8-[(3 ''-hydroxy-4 ''-one)-2 '',2 ''-dimethylpyrano]-flavone (2), and (-)-5,4'-dihydroxy-7,8-[(cis-3 ''-hydroxy-4 ''-ethoxy-3 '',4 ''-dihydro)-2 '',2 ''-dimethylpyrano]-flavone (3). The new structures were elucidated by means of spectroscopic methods. Compounds 1-20 were evaluated for their anti-human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) activity, in which 2 showed significant anti-HIV-1 activity with high therapeutic index (T1) of 143.65.

八种稀土金属配合物和铂配合物抗HIV 活性的研究

　为了寻找治疗艾滋病的新药,研究了8 种稀土金属(镧、铒、镝、钆、镨、镱、钐、钕) 配合物和铂 配合物的抗HIV 活性。我们以C8166 细胞系为指示细胞,测定样品对HIV - 1IIIB诱导的细胞合胞体形成 的抑制作用,并以MTT方法测定它们对细胞存活率的影响,以研究稀土和铂配合物对细胞的毒性。根 据公式,计算出其CC50和EC50值,并进一步计算出其TI 值。结果表明,镧配合物、钐配合物和铂配合物 的EC50值分别为0. 006μg/ ml 、74. 28μg/ ml 和21. 54μg/ ml ,它们的治疗指数分别为63、21 和45 ,具有一定的 抗HIV - 1 活性。其它的配合物具有很低或者不具有抗HIV - 1 活性。

An improved microtiter assay for evaluating anti-HIV-I neutralizing antibodies from sera or plasma

Background: The anti-HIV-1 neutralizing antibody assay is widely used in AIDS vaccine research and other experimental and clinical studies. The vital dye staining method applied in the detection of anti-HIV-1 neutralizing antibody has been used in many laboratories. However, the unknown factor(s) in sera or plasma affected cell growth and caused protection when the tested sera or plasma was continuously maintained in cell culture. In addition, the poor solubility of neutral red in medium (such as RPMI-1640) also limited the use of this assay. Methods: In this study, human T cell line C8166 was used as host cells, and 3-(4,5-Dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)- 2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) instead of neutral red was used as vital dye. In order to avoid the effect of the unknown factor( s), the tested sera or plasma was removed by a washout procedure after initial 3 - 6 h culture in the assay. Result: This new assay eliminated the effect of the tested sera or plasma on cell growth, improved the reliability of detection of anti-HIV-1 neutralizing antibody, and showed excellent agreement with the p24 antigen method. Conclusion: The results suggest that the improved assay is relatively simple, highly duplicable, cost-effective, and well reliable for evaluating anti-HIV-1 neutralizing antibodies from sera or plasma.

Identification and characterization of a new class of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 recombinants comprised of two circulating recombinant forms, CRF07_BC and CRF08_BC, in China

We identified a new class of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) recombinants (00CN-HH069 and 00CN-HH086) in which further recombination occurred between two established circulating recombinant forms (CRFs). These two isolates were found among 57 HIV-1 samples from a cohort of injecting drug users in eastern Yunnan Province of China. Informative-site analysis in conjunction with bootscanning plots and exploratory tree analysis revealed that these two strains were closely related mosaics comprised of CRF07_BC and CRF08_BC, which are found in China. The genotype screening based on gag-reverse transcriptase sequences if 57 samples from eastern Yunnan identified 47 CRF08_BC specimens (82.5%), 5 CRF07_BC specimens (8.8%), and 3 additional specimens with the novel recombinant structure. These new "second-generation" recombinants thus constitute a substantial proportion (5 of 57; 8.8%) of HIV-1 strains in this population and may belong to a new but yet-undefined class of CRF. This might be the first example of CRFs recombining with each other, leading to the evolution of second-generation inter-CRF recombinants.

Structural and functional characterization of the human CCR5 receptor in complex with HIV gp120 envelope glycoprotein and CD4 receptor by molecular modeling studies

The entry of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) into cells depends on a sequential interaction of the gp120 envelope glycoprotein with the cellular receptors CD4 and members of the chemokine receptor family. The CC chemokine receptor CCR5 is such a receptor for several chemokines and a major coreceptor for the entry of R5 HIV type-1 (HIV-1) into cells. Although many studies focus on the interaction of CCR5 with HIV-1, the corresponding interaction sites in CCR5 and gp120 have not been matched. Here we used an approach combining protein structure modeling, docking and molecular dynamics simulation to build a series of structural models of the CCR5 in complexes with gp120 and CD4. Interactions such as hydrogen bonds, salt bridges and van der Waals contacts between CCR5 and gp120 were investigated. Three snapshots of CCR5-gp120-CD4 models revealed that the initial interactions of CCR5 with gp120 are involved in the negatively charged N-terminus (Nt) region of CCR5 and positively charged bridging sheet region of gp120. Further interactions occurred between extracellular loop2 (ECL2) of CCR5 and the base of V3 loop regions of gp120. These interactions may induce the conformational changes in gp120 and lead to the final entry of HIV into the cell. These results not only strongly support the two-step gp120-CCR5 binding mechanism, but also rationalize extensive biological data about the role of CCR5 in HIV-1 gp120 binding and entry, and may guide efforts to design novel inhibitors.

In vitro anti-HIV and -HSV activity and safety of sodium rutin sulfate as a microbicide candidate

Sodium rutin sulfate (SRS) is a sulfated rutin modified from the natural flavonol glycoside rutin. Here, we investigated its in vitro anti-HIV and -HSV activities and its cytotoxic profile. Fifty percent inhibitory concentration (IC50) values of SRS against HIV-1 X4 virus IIIB, HIV-1 R5 isolates Ada-M and Ba-L were 2.3 +/- 0.2, 4.5 +/- 2.0 and 8.5 +/- 3.8 mu M with a selectivity index (SI) of 563, 575 and 329, respectively. Its IC50 against primary R5 HIV-1 isolate from Yunnan province in China was 13.1 +/- 5.5 mu M, with a Sl of 197. In contrast, unsulfated rutin had no activity against any of the HIV-1 isolates tested. Further study indicated that SRS blocked viral entry and virus-cell fusion likely through interacting with the HIV- I envelope glycoprotein. SRS also demonstrated some activity against human herpes simplex virus (HSV) with an IC50 of 88.3 +/- 0.1 mu M and a Sl of 30. The 50% cytotoxicity concentration (CC50) of SRS was >3.0 mM, as determined in human genital ME 180, HeLa and primary human foreskin fibroblast cells. Minimum inhibitory concentration of SRS for vaginal lactobacilli was >3.0 mM. These results collectively indicate that SRS represents a novel candidate for anti-HIV-1/HSV microbicide development. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Recombinant protein of heptad-repeat HR212, a stable fusion inhibitor with potent anti-HIV action in vitro

HR212, a recombinant protein expressed in Escherichia coli, has been previously reported to inhibit HIV-1 membrane fusion at low nanomolar level. Here we report that HR212 is effective in blocking laboratory strain HIV-1IIIB entry and replication with EC50 values of 3.92±0.62 and 6.59±1.74 nM, respectively, and inhibiting infection by clinic isolate HIV-1KM018 with EC50 values of 44.44±10.20 nM, as well as suppressing HIV-1- induced cytopathic effect with an EC50 value of 3.04±1.20 nM. It also inhibited HIV-2ROD and HIV-2CBL-20 entry and replication in the μM range. Notably, HR212 was highly effective against T20-resistant strains with EC50 values ranging from 5.09 to 7.75 nM. Unlike T20, HR212 showed stability sufficient to inhibit syncytia formation in a time-of-addition assay, and was insensitive to proteinase K digestion. These results suggest that HR212 has great potential to be further developed as novel HIV-1 fusion inhibitor for treatment of HIV/ AIDS patients, particularly for those infected by T20-resistant variants.

HIV抗原抗体联合检测试剂盒适用于体外病毒感染p24抗原检测

比较Vironostika HIV UniformⅡAg/Ab抗原抗体联合检测试剂盒、Vironostika HIV-1 p24抗原检测试剂盒和自制p24单克隆抗体在实验室检测不同HIV毒株体外细胞感染复制的灵敏度。比较3种检测方法在抗HIV药物筛选研究中的应用。方法：HIV抗原抗体联合检测试剂盒和p24抗原检测试剂盒检测严格按说明书操作。自制p24单克隆抗体检测HIV-1 p24抗原采用Fc抗体捕捉双抗夹心法。结果: 3种检测方法检测病毒谱相同，p24抗原检测试剂盒灵敏度最高，HIV抗原抗体联合检测试剂盒其次，自制p24抗原检测法灵敏度最低。检测抗HIV药物AZT 和 IDV抑制病毒复制的剂量曲线，HIV抗原抗体联合检测试剂盒与自制p24抗原检测法均可呈现很好的“S”型剂量曲线，检测IC50一致。HIV抗原抗体联合检测试剂盒灵敏度比自制p24抗原检测法高20倍。p24抗原检测试剂盒灵敏度高但检测范围窄(5-80pg/mL)，导致剂量曲线不明显。 结论: HIV抗原抗体联合检测试剂盒适用于实验室体外病毒感染复制的p24抗原检测。

西夫韦肽和盐肤木提取物体外抗HIV 活性及机制研究

本论文主要由3 个相对独立的部分组成: 西夫韦肽抗HIV 活性机制研究及其 联合用药和耐药性研究，盐肤木提取物及其化合物抗HIV 活性机制研究和精子 顶体反应抑制剂AGB 抗HIV 活性及机制研究。 HIV 侵入抑制剂是抗HIV 药物研发的热点。该类抑制剂靶定在病毒复制周 期早期，为HARRT 疗法提供了更多新的药物组合，且该类抑制剂对临床中已产 生的耐药毒株也有较好的抑制作用。目前FDA 批准上市的侵入抑制剂仅有T-20， 急需开发新一类的HIV-1 侵入抑制剂。西夫韦肽是由36 个氨基酸组成的多肽， 我们对西夫韦肽进行了一系列体外抗HIV 药效学的实验来研究西夫韦肽体外抗 HIV 活性以及作用机制。实验结果表明西夫韦肽对多种HIV 宿主细胞毒性小， 可以有效抑制HIV-1IIIB 诱导的C8166 细胞的病变效应，EC50 值仅为7.8ng/ml ， TI 值大于 384,615;在不同的检测方法中，西夫韦肽均表现出了比T-20 更好的抑 制活性，EC50 值低了13-42 倍。在对HIV-1 临床分离株、耐药株、两株HIV-2 毒株和SIVmac239 的抑制活性研究表明西夫韦肽也可以很好地抑制 HIV-1 临床株 HIV-1KM018 的复制，EC50 值低至4.4ng/ml，对耐药株HIV-174V、HIV-2 和 SIVmac239 的复制也均有较好的抑制作用。 在机制研究中，我们发现西夫韦肽极有效地抑制HIV-1慢性感染H9细胞与 正常C8166细胞间的融合作用，EC50 低至0.4ng/ml，表明西夫韦肽可以以极低的 浓度有效抑制HIV进入宿主细胞。用GST-pull down 实验进一步验证了西夫韦肽 和T-20可以很好地与HR1结合而不能与HR2结合，作用机制就是特异地与gp41的 HR1结合从而抑制了6-Helix的形成，阻断了HIV的融合过程。由于HIV的高变异 性，单一药物治疗容易产生耐药性，最终导致治疗失败。因此在新药开发中进行 药物与作用靶不同的已上市药物体外联合用药和耐药性研究是非常必要的，将对 临床应用有指导意义，我们的实验结果表明西夫韦肽与AZT联合用药体外抗HIV-1作用较单独用药好，不同检测方法联合用药比单独使用西夫韦肽的效果好 8.3-9.4倍；耐药性研究表明其体外诱导耐药性产生的时间与T-20相仿，与T-20有 交叉耐药。 我国传统的中医药是个巨大的宝库，有丰富的临床经验，中医药治疗艾滋病 有着一定的潜力。从我国国情出发，利用中医药的独特性及经济性，开发传统的 具有我国特色的艾滋病治疗天然药物成为AIDS 防治工作的当务之急。盐肤木是 中国的本土植物，在我国民间用作传统医药有着悠久的历史。盐肤木茎提取物尤 其是石油醚提取部分RC-1 具有较好的抗HIV 活性，且作用于病毒复制周期的后 期，从中分离得到的化合物1、2、4、5 和6 都是RC-1 的活性成份；盐肤木茎 提取物乙酸乙酯提取物RC-2 中也有较好的抗HIV 作用，其中的化合物8、9、 10 和13 是抗HIV 的活性成分，且作用机制各不相同，这些有效化合物的抗HIV 机制值得进一步的研究。 杀微生物剂是一种局部用药于阴道或宫颈的药物制剂，由女性自主控制防止 性传播疾病病原体包括HIV 的感染，是近年来的研究热点之一。AGB(4`-乙酰胺 苯基 4-胍基苯甲酸酯)是顶体酶的抑制剂，我们的实验表明AGB 有很好的杀精 子作用，还具有体外抗HIV-1 的作用，作用机制主要是阻断HIV-1 进入细胞。

N-(间硝基苯磺酰)-6-甲基吲哚体外抗HIV 活性及作用机制研究

本论文对12个N-（取代苯磺酰）吲哚类化合物体外抗HIV活性进行了初步筛选，并选择其中活性最好的化合物N-（间硝基苯磺酰）-6-甲基吲哚，对其抗HIV 活性及作用机制进行深入研究。一、体外检测了12个N-（取代苯磺酰）吲哚类化合物对C8166和MT-4细胞的毒性、对HIV-1IIIB 感染C8166后诱导的合胞体形成的抑制及对HIV-1IIIB感染MT-4 细胞后的保护作用。结果发现多个化合物具有抑制HIV-1复制活性，特别是化合物N-（间硝基苯磺酰）-6-甲基吲哚，其对HIV-1IIIB诱导的合胞体形成的EC50和TI （Therapy index）值分别为0.26 μg/ml和543.78；对HIV-1IIIB急性感染的MT-4细胞也有很好的保护作用（TI值为104.23)。二、选择活性最强的化合物N-（间硝基苯磺酰）-6-甲基吲哚进行深入的抗 HIV活性研究。在细胞水平上，通过观察致感染细胞病变和HIV-1 p24抗原表达抑制实验（ELISA方法），采用3类多株HIV病毒株（实验株、临床分离株、耐药株）和3类多种细胞（人T淋巴细胞传代株、HIV-1慢性感染人T淋巴细胞株、人外周血单个核细胞）对化合物进行体外抗HIV活性进行系统评价，实验结果表明，化合物对不同来源的HIV-1病毒株都显示出很好抗HIV活性。同时，我们也研究了化合物抗HIV-2活性，发现该化合物并不能抑制HIV-2在C8166细胞中复制。三、在细胞毒性实验上，我们检测了N-（间硝基苯磺酰）-6-甲基吲哚对不同的细胞系和人外周血单个核细胞（PBMC）毒性作用，结果显示化合物的细胞毒性较低。四、在作用机制和靶点研究上，检测了化合物对感染与未感染细胞之间融合的抑制、对HIV-1急性感染C8166细胞及对HIV-1慢性感染H9细胞（H9/HIV-1IIIB）中病毒复制的阻断作用。结果显示，N-（间硝基苯磺酰）-6-甲基吲哚对急性感染细胞有很好抑制作用（EC50为0.52 μg/ml）；但对感染与未感染细胞的融合（EC50为 46.40 μg/ml）和慢性感染H9细胞中病毒的复制没有抑制作用（EC50大于100 μg/ml）。提示化合物作用于HIV侵入细胞后到HIV DNA整合前这一阶段。其后对HIV-1逆转录酶活性的抑制情况进行了分析，发现N-（间硝基苯磺酰） -6-甲基吲哚对HIV-1逆转录酶（RT）有很好抑制作用。五、构效关系分析。我们对12 个N-（取代苯磺酰）吲哚类化合物进行了初步的构效关系研究，发现在N-benzenesulfonyl 环上连接一个吸电子基团(nitro group)比供电子基团(methyl group)有更强的抗HIV 活性，但当在indoles 环上连接吸电子基团(nitro group)，抗HIV 活性反而受到抑制。以上实验数据显示N-（间硝基苯磺酰）-6-甲基吲哚是一个安全有效的抗 HIV-1 候选化合物，具有进一步研究价值。

Sequence evolution of the CCR5 chemokine receptor gene in primates

The chemokine receptor CCR5 can serve as a coreceptor for M-tropic HIV-1 infection and both M-tropic and T-tropic SIV infection. We sequenced the entire CCR5 gene from 10 nonhuman primates: Pongo pygmaeus, Hylobates leucogenys, Trachypithecus francoisi, Trachypithecus phayrei, Pygathrix nemaeus, Rhinopithecus roxellanae, Rhinopithecus bieti, Rhinopithecus avunculus, Macaca assamensis, and Macaca arctoides. When compared with CCR5 sequences from humans and other primates, our results demonstrate that:(1) nucleotide and amino acid sequences of CCR5 among primates are highly homologous, with variations slightly concentrated on the amino and carboxyl termini; and (2) site Asp13, which is critical for CD4-independent binding of SIV gp120 to Macaca mulatta CCR5, was also present in all other nonhuman primates tested here, suggesting that those nonhuman primate CCR5s might also bind SIV gp120 without the presence of CD4. The topologies of CCR5 gene trees constructed here conflict with the putative opinion that the snub-nosed langurs compose a monophyletic group, suggesting that the CCR5 gene may not be a good genetic marker for low-level phylogenetic analysis. The evolutionary rate of CCR5 was calculated, and our results suggest a slowdown in primates after they diverged from rodents. The synonymous mutation rate of CCR5 in primates is constant, about 1.1 x 10(-9) synonymous mutations per site per year. Comparisons of K-a and K-s suggest that the CCR5 genes have undergone negative or purifying selection. K-a/K-s ratios from cercopithecines and colobines are significantly different, implying that selective pressures have played different roles in the two lineages.

Structure analysis of CCR5 from human and primates

It is well known that the chemokine receptor CCR5 plays very important roles in HIV-1 virus infection. A three-dimensional molecular model of human CCR5 was generated by SYBYL, a distance geometry-based homologous modeling package, using the corresponding transmembrane domain of bacteriorhodopsin as the template. On the basis of human CCR5 model, we also built 18 3D molecular models of CCR5 in primates from Pongo pygmaeus, Pygathrix nemaeus, Macaca assameniss, Trachy-pithecus phayrei, T. francoisi, M. arotoides, Rhinopithecus roxellance, R, bieti, R. avunculus, Hylobates leucogenys, Pan troglodytes, Gorilla gorilla, Cercopithecus aethiops 1, C. aethiops 2, Papio hamadryas M. mulatta, M. fascicularis and M. nemestrina. Structural analyses and statistics results suggested that the main-chains of the primate CCR5 were similar to that of the human CCR5 and that the fit-RMS deviation values of these primate CCR5 were less than 0.1 Angstrom. Moreover, the structures of these CCR5 proteins, except those of the African green monkey 1 (C.aet1), do not have a remarkable difference. It is proved that the 14th residue is possibly very important in the inhibition infections by M-tropic HIV-1, and it is also demonstrated that the 13th residue of human CCR5 was changed from asparagine into aspartic acid in all these primates. It means that the primate CCR5 no longer depend on CD4 for efficient entry, but human CCR5 may have evolved subsequently due to the use of CD4 as a receptor, allowing the high-affinity chemokine receptor-binding site of HIV to be sequestered from host immune surveillance. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Structural analysis of human CCR2b and primate CCR2b by molecular modeling and molecular dynamics simulation

CCR2b, a chemokine receptor for MCP-1, -2, -3, -4, plays an important role in a variety of diseases involving infection, inflammation, and/or injury, as well as being a coreceptor for HIV-1 infection. Two models of human CCR2b (hCCR2b) were generated by h

AIDS 免疫治疗相关腺病毒载体的构建

艾滋病（AIDS）是人类免疫缺陷病毒（HIV）感染后引起的一种严重危害人类健 康的致死性传染病。抗HIV 药物挽救和延长了很多HIV 感染者的生命，提高了其生活 质量，但是仍然不能治愈AIDS 和预防传播。最终有效控制HIV 传播和感染的方法可能 仍将依赖于HIV 疫苗的应用。HIV 感染对感染者以及社会造成的灾难性后果使得发展 一个有效的艾滋病疫苗变得尤为紧迫和重要。 负载HIV-1 抗原的DC 回输到HIV-1 感染者体内可以诱导产生较强的抗HIV-1 细 胞免疫反应，这种免疫反应理论上和临床试验都表明治疗AIDS 有效，而且对HARRT 治疗能够产生很好的协同作用。我们拟用感染了重组腺病毒的DC，回输到HIV-1 感染 者体内，期望可以较好地控制病毒复制和阻止感染。为此，本研究我们制备了重组腺病 毒vAd-gp140、vAd-tat 和vAd-gp140-tat，为后续研究奠定基础。 结构蛋白Env 是激发抗体反应的抗原，由于Env 全长有较大细胞毒性，本文采用 了截短的gp140 分子，删除了gp41 的胞内段，降低了gp140 蛋白的细胞毒性。同时保 留了gp41 的跨膜区，表达的蛋白可被正确地锚定在细胞表面，提高蛋白的免疫原性。 将gp140 分子克隆到复制缺陷型的腺病毒载体中，用Wester Blotting 方法检测到gp140 在293 细胞中的表达。 有效的抗 HIV-1 的疫苗应该能够同时激发针对多种亚型病毒株的细胞和体液免疫 反应。早期病毒蛋白激发的CTL 应答在控制病毒载量上更为有效，而且Tat 蛋白的重 要免疫抗原表位和功能区域在不同HIV-1 病毒株之间是高度保守的。Tat 蛋白的多种生 物学功能使得它成为较强的免疫原、共抗原和佐剂，激发T 细胞抗原表位的Th1 型反 应和CTL 反应，扩大体内T 细胞识别的抗原表位谱，提高T 细胞特异性免疫反应。本 文扩增了HIV-1ⅢB 的tat 基因，克隆到复制缺陷性的腺病毒中，构建了重组腺病毒 vAd-tat，并在293 细胞中表达了分子量大小为15kDa 的蛋白。早期蛋白和结构蛋白的联合免疫能够全面地控制病毒复制，在动物实验中一定程度 上保护了猴子。我们将已得到表达的gp140 和tat 基因进行融合表达。利用融合PCR 技 术，扩增gp140 和tat 的融合基因，构建携有HIV-1 gp140-tat 融合基因的重组腺病毒 vAd-gp140-tat。gp140-tat 在293 细胞中的融合表达还需要进一步验证。 下一步的工作是将构建好的重组腺病毒感染DC，检测外源基因在DC 中的表达水 平，对DC 表面分子表型的影响以及对DC 功能的影响。