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Inhibition of HIV infectivity by a natural human isolate of Lactobacillus jensenii engineered to express functional two-domain CD4 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Chang, T. L., Chang, C. H., Simpson, D. A., Xu, Q., Martin, P. K., Lagenaur, L. A., SCHOOLNIK, G. K., Ho, D. D., Hillier, S. L., Holodniy, M., Lewicki, J. A., Lee, P. P. 2003; 100 (20): 11672-11677

Abstract

The predominant mode of HIV transmission worldwide is via heterosexual contact, with the cervico-vaginal mucosa being the main portal of entry in women. The cervico-vaginal mucosa is naturally colonized with commensal bacteria, primarily lactobacilli. To address the urgent need for female-controlled approaches to block the heterosexual transmission of HIV, we have engineered natural human vaginal isolates of Lactobacillus jensenii to secrete two-domain CD4 (2D CD4) proteins. The secreted 2D CD4 recognized a conformation-dependent anti-CD4 antibody and bound HIV type 1 (HIV-1) gp120, suggesting that the expressed proteins adopted a native conformation. Single-cycle infection assays using HIV-1HxB2 carrying a luciferase reporter gene demonstrated that Lactobacillus-derived 2D CD4 inhibited HIV-1 entry into target cells in a dose-dependent manner. Importantly, coincubation of the engineered bacteria with recombinant HIV-1HxB2 reporter virus led to a significant decrease in virus infectivity of HeLa cells expressing CD4-CXCR4-CCR5. Engineered lactobacilli also caused a modest, but statistically significant, decrease in infectivity of a primary isolate, HIV-1JR-FL. This represents an important first step toward the development of engineered commensal bacteria within the vaginal microflora to inhibit heterosexual transmission of HIV.

View details for DOI 10.1073/pnas.1934747100

View details for Web of Science ID 000185685700089

View details for PubMedID 12972635

View details for PubMedCentralID PMC208816