Design and expression of an inhibitor for HIV-1 targeting dendritic cell

Abstract:

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infects the host cells by the fusion of viral and cell membranes. Blocking the combining between HIV and the receptors can prevent HIV from entering the host cells. We designed an invasion-inhibitor for HIV-1 targeting dendritic cell (DC), including 2 important HIV-1 receptors CD4 and CCR5, and 2 molecules Flt3-L and Mip-3α. With the synthetic gene of the inhibitor, 2 eukaryotic expression vectors pABK-CKR5-CD4/Flt3L-Mip3α (pABK-HIV-MF) and pABK-CKR5-CD4 (pABK-HIV-MT) were constructed and transfected into HEK 293 cells for expression. Results from RT-PCR, immunofluorescent assay, ELISA and Western blot approved that the invasion-inhibitor for HIV-1 was successfully and exactly expressed in the eukaryotic cells. Current study formed a solid base for the further research on the function of inhibitors for HIV-1 and elimination targeting DC.