Discovery of novel promising targets for anti-AIDS drug developments by computer modeling: application to the HIV-1 gp120 V3 loop.

The V3 loop on gp120 from HIV-1 is a focus of many research groups involved in anti-AIDS drug studies, because this region of the protein determines the preference of the virus for T-lymphocytes or primary macrophages. Although the V3 loop governs cell tropism and, for this reason, exhibits one of the most attractive targets for anti-HIV-1 drug developments, its high sequence variability is a major complicating factor. Nevertheless, the data on the spatial arrangement of V3 obtained here for different HIV-1 subtypes by computer modeling clearly show that, despite a wide range of 3D folds, this functionally important site of gp120 forms at least three structurally invariant segments, which contain residues critical for cell tropism. It is evident that these conserved V3 segments represent potential HIV-1 vulnerable spots and, therefore, provide a blueprint for the design of novel, potent and broad antiviral agents able to stop the HIV's spread.