Expression and antigenecity of human immunodeficiency virus type-1 transmembrane protein gp41 in insect cells

The HIV-1 transmembrane protein, gp41, is processed together with the envelope glycoprotein, gp120, from the same precursor, gp160, during the virus maturation. We used a baculovirus expression system to demonstrate that gp41 could be properly expressed without the preceding gp120 sequence. Two constructs with slight differences in the N-terminal region of gp41 were generated: one with a deletion of the first 7 hydrophobic residues of gp41, which have been suggested to be in a region important for membrane fusion and penetration, whereas the second with a complete sequence of gp41 except that a nonconserved leucine was substituted with a glutamine during DNA manipulation. Results from Western blotting with specific antisera confirm the gp41 identity. The sizes of gp41 were sensitive to tunicamycin treatment, indicating that N-linked glycosylation did occur. Further immunoblotting analyses with 90 different serum samples from HIV-1-infected individuals gave similar reaction patterns, suggesting that gp120 as well as the N-terminal region of gp41 are not critical for the expression and antigenecity of gp41. These eucaryotic constructs should provide valuable gp41 sources for detailed characterization of gp41 functions.