PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

NIH scientists find mechanism that helps HIV evade antibodies, stabilize key proteins

Discovery may have implications for HIV vaccine research

2014-02-04
(Press-News.org) Contact information: Laura S. Leifman
laura.sivitz@nih.gov
301-402-1663
NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
NIH scientists find mechanism that helps HIV evade antibodies, stabilize key proteins Discovery may have implications for HIV vaccine research WHAT: NIH scientists have discovered a mechanism involved in stabilizing key HIV proteins and thereby concealing sites where some of the most powerful HIV neutralizing antibodies bind, findings with potential implications for HIV vaccine research. Numerous spikes jut out of the surface of HIV, each containing a set of three identical, bulb-shaped proteins called gp120 that can be closed together or spread apart like the petals of a flower. Some of the most important sites targeted by HIV neutralizing antibodies are hidden when the three gp120s, or the trimer, are closed, and the gp120 trimer remains closed until the virus binds to a cell.

The researchers discovered that certain amino acids located on the gp120 protein undergo a process that stabilizes the trimer in its closed position. In this process, called sulfation, the amino acids acquire a sulfur atom surrounded by four oxygen atoms. By either blocking or increasing sulfation of these amino acids, the researchers changed the sensitivity of the virus to different neutralizing antibodies, indicating that the trimer was being either opened or closed.

The scientists suggest that if the synthesized gp120 widely used in HIV research were fully sulfated during manufacture, the resulting product would adopt a more true-to-life structure and more closely mirror the way the immune system sees unbound HIV. This might help generate a more effective HIV vaccine. The researchers add that full sulfation of gp120 may enable scientists to crystallize the molecule more readily, which also could advance HIV vaccine design.

ARTICLE: R Cimbro et al. Tyrosine sulfation in the second variable loop (V2) of HIV-1 gp120 stabilizes V2-V3 interaction and modulates neutralization sensitivity. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1314718111 (2014).

WHO: Paolo Lusso, M.D., Ph.D., chief of the Viral Pathogenesis Section in the Laboratory of Immunoregulation at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, is available for comment.

### CONTACT: To schedule interviews, please contact Laura S. Leifman, (301) 402-1663, laura.sivitz@nih.gov.

NIAID conducts and supports research—at NIH, throughout the United States, and worldwide—to study the causes of infectious and immune-mediated diseases, and to develop better means of preventing, diagnosing and treating these illnesses. News releases, fact sheets and other NIAID-related materials are available on the NIAID Web site at http://www.niaid.nih.gov.

About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit http://www.nih.gov/.

NIH...Turning Discovery Into Health


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Data-driven team is key to sustaining positive behavior framework in schools

2014-02-04
EUGENE, Ore. -- A new study finds that a dedicated team that makes decisions based on data ...

High long-term survival of most common pediatric brain tumor, less when radiation was used

2014-02-04
BOSTON (Feb. 3, 2014) ...

NIH study describes new method for tracking T cells in HIV patients

2014-02-04
WHAT: A team of researchers has reported a novel method for tracking CD4+ ...

EARTH Magazine: Warring trolls explanation for mysterious basalt pillars revised

2014-02-04
Alexandria, VA – A complex interaction between lava and water, rather than a fight between mythical troll-beasts of lore, is responsible for the occurrence of rare terrestrial ...

Finding a target for tumor suppression

2014-02-04
One of the hopes for victory against cancer hinges on naturally-occurring proteins whose job is to make their host cell die. Since their natural role is to stop ...

Newly discovered signaling pathway could impact a variety of autoinflammatory diseases

2014-02-04
Researchers from Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Massey Cancer Center have discovered a new signaling pathway in sterile inflammation that could impact the ...

The art and science of cognitive rehabilitation therapy

2014-02-04
Amsterdam, NL, February 4, 2014 – There is a growing need for Cognitive Rehabilitation Therapy (CRT) due to the huge influx of soldiers ...

New technique could be used to search space dust for life's ingredients

2014-02-04
While the origin of life remains mysterious, scientists are finding more and more evidence that material created in space and delivered to Earth by comet and meteor ...

Blue light may fight fatigue around the clock

2014-02-04
Boston, MA-- Researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) have found that exposure to short wavelength, or ...

Cell division finding could boost understanding of cancer

2014-02-04
New insights into how the cells in our bodies divide could improve our knowledge of a condition linked to cancer, a study suggests. Errors in the cell division process – which allows us to grow ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Sensing sickness

Cost to build multifamily housing in California more than twice as high as in Texas

Program takes aim at drinking, unsafe sex, and sexual assault on college campuses

Inability to pay for healthcare reaches record high in U.S.

Science ‘storytelling’ urgently needed amid climate and biodiversity crisis

KAIST Develops Retinal Therapy to Restore Lost Vision​

Adipocyte-hepatocyte signaling mechanism uncovered in endoplasmic reticulum stress response

Mammals were adapting from life in the trees to living on the ground before dinosaur-killing asteroid

Low LDL cholesterol levels linked to reduced risk of dementia

Thickening of the eye’s retina associated with greater risk and severity of postoperative delirium in older patients

Almost one in ten people surveyed report having been harmed by the NHS in the last three years

Enhancing light control with complex frequency excitations

New research finds novel drug target for acute myeloid leukemia, bringing hope for cancer patients

New insight into factors associated with a common disease among dogs and humans

Illuminating single atoms for sustainable propylene production

New study finds Rocky Mountain snow contamination

Study examines lactation in critically ill patients

UVA Engineering Dean Jennifer West earns AIMBE’s 2025 Pierre Galletti Award

Doubling down on metasurfaces

New Cedars-Sinai study shows how specialized diet can improve gut disorders

Making moves and hitting the breaks: Owl journeys surprise researchers in western Montana

PKU Scientists simulate the origin and evolution of the North Atlantic Oscillation

ICRAFT breakthrough: Unlocking A20’s dual role in cancer immunotherapy

How VR technology is changing the game for Alzheimer’s disease

A borrowed bacterial gene allowed some marine diatoms to live on a seaweed diet

Balance between two competing nerve proteins deters symptoms of autism in mice

Use of antifungals in agriculture may increase resistance in an infectious yeast

Awareness grows of cancer risk from alcohol consumption, survey finds

The experts that can outsmart optical illusions

Pregnancy may reduce long COVID risk

[Press-News.org] NIH scientists find mechanism that helps HIV evade antibodies, stabilize key proteins
Discovery may have implications for HIV vaccine research