Targeting therapeutics to an exposed and conserved binding element of the HIV-1 fusion protein

There is an urgent need for new drugs that can kill HIV type 1 (HIV-1)-infected cells. HIV-1 glycoprotein Env, which promotes viral membrane fusion through receptor-mediated conformational changes, is an attractive target for such agents because it is expressed on the surface of both virions and infected cells. Unfortunately, conserved binding elements on this protein frequently are buried under a canopy of flexible, glycosylated peptide loops or exposed only transiently during the fusion process. Here, we investigate the exposure of the C-terminal region of the Env ectodomain outside the context of membrane fusion. This binding element is the target of the 5-Helix protein, a designed entry inhibitor that disrupts conformational changes in Env subunit gp41, essential for the fusion process. We show that 5-Helix is capable of interacting with HIV-1 Env in a receptor-independent fashion and that a chimeric 5-Helix/Pseudomonas exotoxin protein recognizes cells expressing Env from a broad spectrum of HIV-1 strains including primary isolates from clades B, D, E, G, and H. This recombinant toxin selectively kills HIV-1-infected cells and blocks spreading infection while still maintaining potent inhibitory activity against membrane fusion. Our results demonstrate that the C-terminal region of the gp41 ectodomain is an accessible target on HIV-1-infected cells for the development of antiviral therapeutics and neutralizing antibodies.