The first structure of HIV-1 gp120 with CD4 and CCR5 receptors

Shaik et al. recently published online the cryo-electron microscopy structure of HIV-1 gp120 in complex with CD4 and CCR5 receptors. This is the first structure of the ternary HIV-1 gp120/CD4/CCR5 complex. This breakthrough of Env structure provides insights into HIV-1 fusion mechanism, CCR5 function, co-receptor switch, and, most importantly, the development of co-receptor-targeted therapeutic inhibitor and HIV-1 vaccine. It also shed lights on the immunogenicity of gp120 by revealing the stably exposed conserved gp41-interactive region of gp120 in the complex.