Archives

  • 2018-07
  • 2018-10
  • 2018-11
  • 2019-04
  • 2019-05
  • 2019-06
  • 2019-07
  • 2019-08
  • 2019-09
  • 2019-10
  • 2019-11
  • 2019-12
  • 2020-01
  • 2020-02
  • 2020-03
  • 2020-04
  • 2020-05
  • 2020-06
  • 2020-07
  • 2020-08
  • 2020-09
  • 2020-10
  • 2020-11
  • 2020-12
  • 2021-01
  • 2021-02
  • 2021-03
  • 2021-04
  • 2021-05
  • 2021-06
  • 2021-07
  • 2021-08
  • 2021-09
  • 2021-10
  • 2021-11
  • 2021-12
  • 2022-01
  • 2022-02
  • 2022-03
  • 2022-04
  • 2022-05
  • 2022-06
  • 2022-07
  • 2022-08
  • 2022-09
  • 2022-10
  • 2022-11
  • 2022-12
  • 2023-01
  • 2023-02
  • 2023-03
  • 2023-04
  • 2023-05
  • 2023-06
  • 2023-07
  • 2023-08
  • 2023-09
  • 2023-10
  • 2023-11
  • 2023-12
  • 2024-01
  • 2024-02
  • 2024-03
  • 2024-04

    • We suggest that the FRET enhancement

    2022-01-19

    We suggest that the FRET enhancement observed when the modified mD1 protein containing Acd at position 28 was excited at 260nm (), may differ from the diminution in fluorescence observed following excitation at 280nm due to the excitation of different transitions in Trp (i.e., the L and L transitions). To study the conformational change of mD1 protein using this FRET pair, the CD4 inhibitor Evans blue (EB) was added to the mD1 solution. As shown in , when 1.0μM mD1 was treated with excess EB, the fluorescence emission intensity at 420nm decreased in a concentration-dependent fashion. At the same time, the intensity of the emission at 345nm also decreased in a concentration-dependent fashion. This was presumably due to the binding of EB to mD1 protein, changing the structure of mD1 in a fashion that perturbed the distance between Acd28 and Trp62, or the orientation of the transition dipole moments of the donor and acceptor, thus reducing the observed M871 transfer. Finally, one modified mD1 protein (Acd28) was used to detect HIV-1 gp120 binding by monitoring changes in FRET signal intensity. As shown in , the FRET signal was decreased in a concentration-dependent fashion when 0.2–1.0equiv of gp120 protein was added. Comparing the X-ray crystallographic structure of the CD4–gp120 complex and CD4 protein, the Trp28 residue shifted only slightly ()., However, the Trp62 residue in the CD4–gp120 complex moved by ∼1.1Å and was rotated by about 5°. For the modified mD1 protein containing Acd28, the analogous movement of Trp62 would change both the distance between Trp28 and Acd62, and the orientation of their transition dipole moments, consistent with the observed decrease in fluorescence emission intensity resulting from binding to HIV-1 gp120. In this study, the possibility of a decrease in fluorescence intensity due to gp120 protein interactions via a PET mechanism can be excluded, since all of the tryptophan and tyrosine residues of HIV-1 gp120 protein are quite distant from the Acd28 residue of modified mD1 protein (>22Å, PBD 1GC1). In summary, a fluorescent mD1 probe containing a FRET pair was designed and expressed. When excited at 260nm, energy was transferred from Trp62 to Acd28 and emitted fluorescence at 420nm. This FRET signal was used to study the specific binding of mD1 protein to an inhibitor (EB) and to its target protein HIV-1 gp120 in aqueous solution. A change in FRET signal intensity could be detected unambiguously in the presence of 0.2equiv of gp120. While the sensitivity of the current assay is less than that required to detect very limited numbers of copies of gp120, single molecule methods could in principle be employed to significantly enhance sensitivity. Acknowledgements We thank Dr. Dimiter S. Dimitrov for the gift of the mD1.2 plasmid. We also appreciate the assistance provided by Dr. Weizao Chen in the Center for Cancer Research of the National Cancer Institute during the construction of the new plasmid. We thank Prof. Marcia Levitus, Arizona State University, for helpful discussions during the course of this work. This work was performed with the support of Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation through the Grant Challenges Explorations initiative (Grant No. OPP1061337).
    Introduction Various pain syndromes have been reported in human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)-infected individuals. Most of these patients require medication for appropriate pain control. Although the opioids, particularly morphine, remain the best option for treating acute and chronic severe pain, they are less effective in treating some types, such as inflammatory and neuropathic pain. The entrance of HIV-1 into susceptible cells by fusion of the viral membrane with the cell plasma membrane (Dimitrov, 2000) is generally initiated by the binding of the HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein gp120 to CD4 on the host cell surface. The conformational change of the gp120 then allows it to interact with cellular surface chemokine receptors (coreceptors), of which the most common types are the CC chemokine receptor 5 (CCR5) and the CXC chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4) (Shimizu et al., 2000, Berger et al., 1999, He et al., 1997). Chemokines are a superfamily of small cytokine-like molecules that have the ability to mediate the migration of various cell types. CXCL12/SDF-1alpha binds primarily to one receptor, CXCR4, although it can also bind to CXCR7 (Hartmann et al., 2008, Thelen and Thelen, 2008). CXCR4 binds only CXCL12, whereas CCL5/RANTES binds primarily to CCR5 but also to other receptors (CCR1 and CCR3) (Murphy et al., 2000). CXCR4 was expressed in several cell types in brain, but notably in neurons and microglia (Lavi et al., 1997, Shieh et al., 1998, Tanabe et al., 1997). The chemokines CCL5 or CXCL12 and their receptors have been reported to be involved in blocking the analgesic effects of opioids (Adler et al., 2006). Our laboratories were the first to report an apparent in vivo inactivation of opioid receptors by chemoattractant factors (Szabo et al., 2002). Pretreatment with CCL5 or CXCL12 can block the antinociceptive effect of DAMGO, a selective μ-opioid receptor agonist, or morphine (Adler and Rogers, 2005, Szabo et al., 2002).