Dataset Information

Optimization of Small Molecules That Sensitize HIV-1 Infected Cells to Antibody-Dependent Cellular Cytotoxicity.

ABSTRACT: With approximately 37 million people living with HIV worldwide and an estimated 2 million new infections reported each year, the need to derive novel strategies aimed at eradicating HIV-1 infection remains a critical worldwide challenge. One potential strategy would involve eliminating infected cells via antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC). HIV-1 has evolved sophisticated mechanisms to conceal epitopes located in its envelope glycoprotein (Env) that are recognized by ADCC-mediating antibodies present in sera from HIV-1 infected individuals. Our aim is to circumvent this evasion via the development of small molecules that expose relevant anti-Env epitopes and sensitize HIV-1 infected cells to ADCC. Rapid elaboration of an initial screening hit using parallel synthesis and structure-based optimization has led to the development of potent small molecules that elicit this humoral response. Efforts to increase the ADCC activity of this class of small molecules with the aim of increasing their therapeutic potential was based on our recent cocrystal structures with gp120 core.

SUBMITTER: Grenier MC

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7074219 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Optimization of Small Molecules That Sensitize HIV-1 Infected Cells to Antibody-Dependent Cellular Cytotoxicity.

Grenier Melissa C MC Ding Shilei S Vézina Dani D Chapleau Jean-Philippe JP Tolbert William D WD Sherburn Rebekah R Schön Arne A Somisetti Sambasivarao S Abrams Cameron F CF Pazgier Marzena M Finzi Andrés A Smith Amos B AB

ACS medicinal chemistry letters 20191115 3

With approximately 37 million people living with HIV worldwide and an estimated 2 million new infections reported each year, the need to derive novel strategies aimed at eradicating HIV-1 infection remains a critical worldwide challenge. One potential strategy would involve eliminating infected cells via antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC). HIV-1 has evolved sophisticated mechanisms to conceal epitopes located in its envelope glycoprotein (Env) that are recognized by ADCC-mediating a ...[more]

PMID: 32184972

Similar Datasets

Project description:Lifelong antiretroviral therapy (ART) for HIV-1 does not diminish the established latent reservoir. A possible cure approach is to reactivate the quiescent genome from latency and utilize immune responses to eliminate cells harboring reactivated HIV-1. It is not known whether antibodies within HIV-1-infected individuals can recognize and eliminate cells reactivated from latency through antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC). We found that reactivation of HIV-1 expression in the latently infected ACH-2 cell line elicited antibody-mediated NK cell activation but did not result in antibody-mediated killing. The lack of CD4 expression on these HIV-1 envelope (Env)-expressing cells likely resulted in poor recognition of CD4-induced antibody epitopes on Env. To examine this further, cultured primary CD4(+) T cells from HIV-1(+) subjects were used as targets for ADCC. These ex vivo-expanded primary cells were modestly susceptible to ADCC mediated by autologous or heterologous HIV-1(+) serum antibodies. Importantly, ADCC mediated against these primary cells could be enhanced following incubation with a CD4-mimetic compound (JP-III-48) that exposes CD4-induced antibody epitopes on Env. Our studies suggest that with sufficient reactivation and expression of appropriate Env epitopes, primary HIV-1-infected cells can be targets for ADCC mediated by autologous serum antibodies and innate effector cells. The results of this study suggest that further investigation into the potential of ADCC to eliminate reactivated latently infected cells is warranted.An HIV-1 cure remains elusive due to the persistence of long-lived latently infected cells. An HIV-1 cure strategy, termed "shock and kill," aims to reactivate HIV-1 expression in latently infected cells and subsequently eliminate the reactivated cells through immune-mediated killing. While recent research efforts have focused on reversing HIV-1 latency, it remains unclear whether preexisting immune responses within HIV-1(+) individuals can efficiently eliminate the reactivated cells. HIV-1-specific antibodies can potentially eliminate cells reactivated from latency via Fc effector functions by recruiting innate immune cells. Our study highlights the potential role that antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity might play in antilatency cure approaches.

Project description:Measuring Envelope (Env)-specific antibody (Ab)-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC)-competent Abs in HIV+ plasma is challenging because Env displays distinctive epitopes when present in a native closed trimeric conformation on infected cells or in a CD4-bound conformation on uninfected bystander cells. We developed an ADCC model which distinguishes Env-specific ADCC-competent Abs based on their capacity to eliminate infected, bystander, or Env rgp120-coated cells as a surrogate for shed gp120 on bystander cells. A panel of monoclonal Abs (MAbs), used to opsonize these target cells, showed that infected cells were preferentially recognized/eliminated by MAbs to CD4 binding site, V3 loop, and viral spike epitopes whereas bystander/coated cells were preferentially recognized/eliminated by Abs to CD4-induced (CD4i) epitopes. In HIV-positive (HIV+) plasma, Env-specific Abs recognized and supported ADCC of infected cells, though a majority were directed toward CD4i epitopes on bystander cells. For ADCC activity to be effective in HIV control, ADCC-competent Abs need to target genuinely infected cells.IMPORTANCE HIV Env-specific nonneutralizing Abs (NnAbs) able to mediate ADCC have been implicated in protection from HIV infection. However, Env-specific NnAbs have the capacity to support ADCC of both HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected bystander cells, potentially leading to misinterpretations when the assay used to measure ADCC does not distinguish between the two target cell types present in HIV cultures. Using a novel ADCC assay, which simultaneously quantifies the killing activity of Env-specific Abs on both infected and uninfected bystander cells, we observed that only a minority of Env-specific Abs in HIV+ plasma mediated ADCC of genuinely HIV-infected cells displaying Env in its native closed conformation. This assay can be used for the development of vaccine strategies aimed at eliciting Env-specific Ab responses capable of controlling HIV infection.

Project description:HIV-1-specific antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) antibodies within HIV-1-positive (HIV-1+) individuals predominantly target CD4-induced (CD4i) epitopes on HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein (Env). These CD4i epitopes are usually concealed on the surface of infected cells due to CD4 downregulation by the HIV-1 accessory proteins Nef and Vpu. We hypothesized that early-stage infected cells in the process of downregulating CD4 could be more susceptible to ADCC than late-stage infected cells that have fully downregulated CD4. There was significantly higher binding of antibodies within plasma from HIV-1-infected individuals to early-stage infected cells expressing intermediate levels of CD4 (CD4-intermediate cells) than in late-stage infected cells expressing low levels of CD4 (CD4-low cells). However, we noted that HIV-1-uninfected bystander cells and HIV-1-infected cells, at various stages of downregulating CD4, were all susceptible to NK cell-mediated ADCC. Importantly, we observed that the cytolysis of bystander cells and early infected cells in this culture system was driven by sensitization of target cells by inoculum-derived HIV-1 Env or virions. This phenomenon provided Env to target cells prior to de novo Env expression, resulting in artifactual ADCC measurements. Future studies should take into consideration the inherent caveats of in vitro infection systems and develop improved models to address the potential role for ADCC against cells with nascent HIV-1 infection.IMPORTANCE An increasing body of evidence suggests that ADCC contributes to protection against HIV-1 acquisition and slower HIV-1 disease progression. Targeting cells early during the infection cycle would be most effective in limiting virus production and spread. We hypothesized that there could be a time-dependent susceptibility of HIV-1-infected cells to ADCC in regard to CD4 expression. We observed NK cell-mediated ADCC of HIV-1-infected cells at multiple stages of CD4 downregulation. Importantly, ADCC of early infected cells appeared to be driven by a previously unappreciated problem of soluble Env and virions from the viral inoculum sensitizing uninfected cells to ADCC prior to de novo Env expression. These results have implications for studies examining ADCC against cells with nascent HIV-1 infection.

Project description:BackgroundAntibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) has been associated with improved infant outcome in mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of HIV-1. Epitopes of these ADCC-mediating antibodies remain unidentified. CD4-inducible (CD4i) epitopes on gp120 are common ADCC targets in natural infection and vaccination. We tested whether CD4i epitope-specific ADCC mediated by maternal antibodies or passively-acquired antibodies in infants is associated with reduced MTCT and improved infant survival.MethodsWe used variants of CD4i cluster A-specific antibodies, A32 and C11, and a cluster C-specific antibody, 17b, with mutations abolishing Fc-Fc receptor interactions as inhibitors in a competition rapid and fluorometric ADCC assay using gp120-coated CEM-nkr target cells with plasma from 51 non-transmitting and 21 transmitting breastfeeding mother-infant pairs.FindingsCluster A-specific ADCC was common. Individually, neither A32-like nor C11-like ADCC was statistically significantly associated with risk of MTCT or infected infant survival. In combination, total maternal cluster A-specific ADCC was statistically significantly associated with decreased infected infant survival in a log-rank test (p = 0·017). There was a non-significant association for infant passively-acquired total cluster A-specific ADCC and decreased infected infant survival (p = 0·14). Surprisingly, plasma ADCC was enhanced in the presence of the defective Fc 17b competitor. Defective Fc 17b competitor-mediated maternal ADCC enhancement was statistically significantly associated with reduced infected infant survival (p = 0·011). A non-significant association was observed for passively-acquired infant ADCC enhancement and decreased survival (p = 0·19).InterpretationsThese data suggest that ADCC targeting CD4i epitopes is not associated with protection against breast milk HIV transmission but is associated with decreased survival of infected infants. FUND: This study was funded by NIH grant R01AI076105 and NIH fellowship F30AI136636.

Dataset Information

Optimization of Small Molecules That Sensitize HIV-1 Infected Cells to Antibody-Dependent Cellular Cytotoxicity.

Publications

Optimization of Small Molecules That Sensitize HIV-1 Infected Cells to Antibody-Dependent Cellular Cytotoxicity.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets