Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 14, 2026

Combined Genetic and Chemical Capsid Modifications of Adenovirus-Based Gene Transfer Vectors for Shielding and Targeting
Published on: October 26, 2018
Targeted Degradation of Capsid by Host-Hijacking PROTAC Overcomes Drug Resistance
Mei Wang1, Zeyu Peng2, Yang Zhou1
1Department of Medicinal Chemistry, State Key Laboratory of Discovery and Utilization of Functional Components in Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shandong Key Laboratory of Druggability Optimization and Evaluation for Lead Compounds, Shandong Basic Science Special Academic Zone (Pharmacy), School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Shandong University, 250012 Jinan, Shandong, PR China.
None:
The escalating prevalence of HIV-1 drug-resistant variants and the toxicity limitations of conventional antiretroviral therapies necessitate therapeutic strategies with novel mechanisms of action. This study focuses on HIV-1 capsid (CA), an essential replication-related viral protein. We developed CA-targeted proteolysis-targeting chimera (PROTAC) degraders by conjugating PF74-derived CA ligand IIA-4 with VHL E3 ligase ligand. Among these, VHL-3 exhibited potent anti-HIV-1 activity in MT-4 cells (EC50 = 3.0 ± 1.5 nM), a 300-fold improvement over PF74. Mechanistic studies confirmed VHL-3 dose- and time-dependently reduced CA levels in HEK293T cells (early stage, DC50 = 812 nM; late stage, DC50 = 252 nM) via a proteasome-driven pathway. Notably, it effectively degraded clinically relevant CA-resistant mutants (N74D, K70R). This work pioneers the development of CA-targeted degraders, providing a framework for next-generation anti-HIV therapies with high potency and resistance barriers.
More Related Videos
11:58Initial Evaluation of Antibody-conjugates Modified with Viral-derived Peptides for Increasing Cellular Accumulation and Improving Tumor Targeting
Published on: March 8, 2018
10:44Chemical Inactivation of the E3 Ubiquitin Ligase Cereblon by Pomalidomide-based Homo-PROTACs
Published on: May 15, 2019
Related Concept Videos
Inhibitors of Viral Protein Synthesis
Inhibitors Of Virion Release
Antiviral Nucleoside Inhibitors
Inhibitors of Virion Maturation and Assembly
Retrovirus Life Cycles
Treatment Resistant Cancers