An anti-HIV-1 gp120 antibody expressed as an endocytotic transmembrane protein mediates internalization of HIV-1.

In this study, we used HIV-1 as a model to demonstrate a novel approach for receptor-independent cell entry of virus. The heavy chain of an anti-HIV-1 gp120 antibody was engineered with endocytotic and transmembrane motifs from either the cation-independent mannose 6-phosphate receptor or the low-density lipoprotein receptor. Flow cytometry and immunofluorescence studies showed that the chimeric antibodies were expressed on the cell surface and can undergo rapid internalization. Furthermore, one of the chimeric antibodies was able to bind and internalize HIV-1. Using a luciferase reporter HIV-1, we further showed that internalized viruses could undergo replication. Therefore, we have demonstrated a proof-of-principle of a novel method that can be used to internalize virus into cells, without prior knowledge of the cellular receptor for the virus. We propose that this approach would be particularly useful for studying viruses whose cellular receptor(s) is not known.