4th International AIDS Conference Stockholm, Sweden. — June 12-16, 1988

Int Conf AIDS. 1988 Jun 12-16;4:1.108 (abstract no. PL11)

A. Burny^1,2, R. Brasseur¹, D. Portetelle², J.M. Ruysschaert^1
1Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium; ²Faculty of Agronomy, Gembloux, Belgium.

As a rule, retroviruses enter the cell in a pH-independent fashion via fusion of the virus and cell lipid phases after virus adherence to cell due to virus-receptor interaction. The membrane fusion phenomenon can be studied and quantified in the syncytia induction process. Molecular modelling and physico-chemical assays with the Newcastle Disease Virus strongly suggest that fusion involves insertion of the fusogenic peptide obliquely into the lipid bilayer of the membrane, a process that destabilizes the membrane structure.

In the HIV system, it is presumed that the CD4-gp120 complex formation induces a structural change that brings the highly hydrophobic NH -end of gp4l to enter lipid phase of the cell membrane. Important segments of gp120 include the second constant region, a sequence with high homology to neuroleukin-phosphohexose isomerase. Absence of gp120 abrogates the fusion capacity of the remaining particle.

High fusion capacity parallels high infection rate and probably high pathogenicity at the animal level.

880612
PL11

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