In:
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 100, No. 20 ( 2003-09-30), p. 11672-11677
Abstract:
The predominant mode of HIV transmission worldwide is via heterosexual contact, with the cervico-vaginal mucosa being the main portal of entry in women. The cervico-vaginal mucosa is naturally colonized with commensal bacteria, primarily lactobacilli. To address the urgent need for female-controlled approaches to block the heterosexual transmission of HIV, we have engineered natural human vaginal isolates of Lactobacillus jensenii to secrete two-domain CD4 (2D CD4) proteins. The secreted 2D CD4 recognized a conformation-dependent anti-CD4 antibody and bound HIV type 1 (HIV-1) gp120, suggesting that the expressed proteins adopted a native conformation. Single-cycle infection assays using HIV-1 HxB2 carrying a luciferase reporter gene demonstrated that Lactobacillus -derived 2D CD4 inhibited HIV-1 entry into target cells in a dose-dependent manner. Importantly, coincubation of the engineered bacteria with recombinant HIV-1 HxB2 reporter virus led to a significant decrease in virus infectivity of HeLa cells expressing CD4–CXCR4–CCR5. Engineered lactobacilli also caused a modest, but statistically significant, decrease in infectivity of a primary isolate, HIV-1 JR-FL . This represents an important first step toward the development of engineered commensal bacteria within the vaginal microflora to inhibit heterosexual transmission of HIV.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
0027-8424
,
1091-6490
DOI:
10.1073/pnas.1934747100
Language:
English
Publisher:
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Publication Date:
2003
detail.hit.zdb_id:
209104-5
detail.hit.zdb_id:
1461794-8
SSG:
11
SSG:
12
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