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Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, April 2006, p. 1393-1401, Vol. 50, No. 4
0066-4804/06/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AAC.50.4.1393-1401.2006
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Phosphorothioate Oligonucleotides Inhibit Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Fusion by Blocking gp41 Core Formation

REPLICor Inc., 500 Cartier Blvd. West, Laval, Quebec, Canada H7V 5B7,¹ Lindsay F. Kimball Research Institute, New York Blood Center, 310 East 67th Street, New York, New York 10021,² Southern Research Institute, 431 Aviation Way, Frederick, Maryland 21701³

Received 14 September 2005/ Returned for modification 14 November 2005/ Accepted 26 January 2006

Several studies have shown that phosphorothioate oligodeoxynucleotides (PS-ONs) have a sequence-independent antiviral activity against human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1). It has also been suggested that PS-ONs inhibit HIV-1 by acting as attachment inhibitors that bind to the V3 loop of gp120 and prevent the gp120-CD4 interaction. Here we show that PS-ONs (and their fully 2'-O-methylated derivatives) are potent inhibitors of HIV-1-mediated membrane fusion and HIV-1 replication in a size-dependent, phosphorothioation-dependent manner. PS-ONs interact with a peptide derived from the N-terminal heptad repeat region of gp41, and the HIV-1 fusion-inhibitory activity of PS-ONs is closely correlated with their ability to block gp41 six-helix bundle formation, a critical step during the process of HIV-1 fusion with the target cell. These results suggest that the increased hydrophobicity of PS-ONs may contribute to their inhibitory activity against HIV-1 fusion and entry, because longer PS-ONs (30 bases) which have a greater hydrophobicity are more potent in blocking the hydrophobic interactions involved in the gp41 six-helix bundle formation and inhibiting the HIV-1-mediated cell-cell fusion than shorter PS-ONs (<30 bases). This novel antiviral mechanism of action of long PS-ONs has implications for therapy against infection by HIV-1 and other enveloped viruses with type I fusion proteins.

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