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Chen MJ, Gatignol A, Scarborough RJ. The discovery and development of RNA-based therapies for treatment of HIV-1 infection. Expert Opin Drug Discov 2023; 18:163-179. [PMID: 36004505 DOI: 10.1080/17460441.2022.2117296] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Long-term control of HIV-1 infection can potentially be achieved using autologous stem cell transplants with gene-modified cells. Non-coding RNAs represent a diverse class of therapeutic agents including ribozymes, RNA aptamers and decoys, small interfering RNAs, short hairpin RNAs, and U1 interference RNAs that can be designed to inhibit HIV-1 replication. They have been engineered for delivery as drugs to complement current HIV-1 therapies and as gene therapies for a potential HIV-1 functional cure. AREAS COVERED This review surveys the past three decades of development of these RNA technologies with a focus on their efficacy and safety for treating HIV-1 infections. We describe the mechanisms of each RNA-based agent, targets they have been developed against, efforts to enhance their stability and efficacy, and we evaluate their performance in past and ongoing preclinical and clinical trials. EXPERT OPINION RNA-based technologies are among the top candidates for gene therapies where they can be stably expressed for long-term suppression of HIV-1. Advances in both gene and drug delivery strategies and improvements to non-coding RNA stability and antiviral properties will cooperatively drive forward progress in improving drug therapy and engineering HIV-1 resistant cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michelle J Chen
- Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research, Montréal, Québec, Canada.,Department of Medicine, Division of Experimental Medicine, McGill University, Montréal, Québec, Canada
| | - Anne Gatignol
- Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research, Montréal, Québec, Canada.,Department of Medicine, Division of Experimental Medicine, McGill University, Montréal, Québec, Canada.,Department of Microbiology and Immunology, McGill University, Montréal, Québec, Canada
| | - Robert J Scarborough
- Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research, Montréal, Québec, Canada.,Department of Microbiology and Immunology, McGill University, Montréal, Québec, Canada
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Khodajou-Masouleh H, Shahangian SS, Rasti B. Reinforcing our defense or weakening the enemy? A comparative overview of defensive and offensive strategies developed to confront COVID-19. Drug Metab Rev 2021; 53:508-541. [PMID: 33980089 DOI: 10.1080/03602532.2021.1928686] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Developing effective strategies to confront coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has become one of the greatest concerns of the scientific community. In addition to the vast number of global mortalities due to COVID-19, since its outbreak, almost every aspect of human lives has changed one way or another. In the present review, various defensive and offensive strategies developed to confront COVID-19 are illustrated. The Administration of immune-boosting micronutrients/agents, as well as the inhibition of the activity of incompetent gatekeepers, including some host cell receptors (e.g. ACE2) and proteases (e.g. TMPRSS2), are some efficient defensive strategies. Antibody/phage therapies and specifically vaccines also play a prominent role in the enhancement of host defense against COVID-19. Nanotechnology, however, can considerably weaken the virulence of SARS-CoV-2, utilizing fake cellular locks (compounds mimicking cell receptors) to block the viral keys (spike proteins). Generally, two strategies are developed to interfere with the binding of spike proteins to the host cell receptors, either utilizing fake cellular locks to block the viral keys or utilizing fake viral keys to block the cellular locks. Due to their evolutionary conserved nature, viral enzymes, including 3CLpro, PLpro, RdRp, and helicase are highly potential targets for drug repurposing strategy. Thus, various steps of viral replication/transcription can effectively be blocked by their inhibition, leading to the elimination of SARS-CoV-2. Moreover, RNA decoy and CRISPR technologies likely offer the best offensive strategies after viral entry into the host cells, inhibiting the viral replication/assembly in the infected cells and substantially reducing the quantity of viral progeny.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - S Shirin Shahangian
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Guilan, Rasht, Iran
| | - Behnam Rasti
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Basic Sciences, Lahijan Branch, Islamic Azad University (IAU), Lahijan, Guilan, Iran
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Abstract
The human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) proteome is expressed from alternatively spliced and unspliced genomic RNAs. However, HIV-1 RNAs that are not fully spliced are perceived by the host machinery as defective and are retained in the nucleus. During late infection, HIV-1 bypasses this regulatory mechanism by expression of the Rev protein from a fully spliced mRNA. Once imported into the nucleus, Rev mediates the export of unprocessed HIV-1 RNAs to the cytoplasm, leading to the production of the viral progeny. While regarded as a canonical RNA export factor, Rev has also been linked to HIV-1 RNA translation, stabilization, splicing and packaging. However, Rev's functions beyond RNA export have remained poorly understood. Here, we revisit this paradigmatic protein, reviewing recent data investigating its structure and function. We conclude by asking: what remains unknown about this enigmatic viral protein?
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Aino Järvelin
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QU, UK
| | - Ilan Davis
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QU, UK
| | - Alfredo Castello
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QU, UK
- MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, University of Glasgow, 464 Bearsden Road, Glasgow G61 1QH, UK
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Dai Y, Peralta AN, Wynn JE, Sherpa C, Li H, Verma A, Le Grice SFJ, Santos WL. Molecular recognition of a branched peptide with HIV-1 Rev Response Element (RRE) RNA. Bioorg Med Chem 2019; 27:1759-1765. [PMID: 30879859 PMCID: PMC6476629 DOI: 10.1016/j.bmc.2019.03.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2018] [Revised: 03/01/2019] [Accepted: 03/06/2019] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
Interaction of HIV-1 rev response element (RRE) RNA with its cognate protein, Rev, is critical for HIV-1 replication. Understanding the mode of interaction between RRE RNA and ligands at the binding site can facilitate RNA molecular recognition as well as provide a strategy for developing anti-HIV therapeutics. Our approach utilizes branched peptides as a scaffold for multivalent binding to RRE IIB (high affinity rev binding site) with incorporation of unnatural amino acids to increase affinity via non-canonical interactions with the RNA. Previous high throughput screening of a 46,656-member library revealed several hits that bound RRE IIB RNA in the sub-micromolar range. In particular, the lead compound, 4B3, displayed a Kd value of 410 nM and demonstrated selectivity towards RRE. A ribonuclease protection assay revealed that 4B3 binds to the stem-loop structure of RRE IIB RNA, which was confirmed by SHAPE analysis with 234 nt long NL4-3 RRE RNA. Our studies further indicated interaction of 4B3 with both primary and secondary Rev binding sites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yumin Dai
- Department of Chemistry and Virginia Tech Center for Drug Discovery, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, United States
| | - Ashley N Peralta
- Department of Chemistry and Virginia Tech Center for Drug Discovery, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, United States
| | - Jessica E Wynn
- Department of Chemistry and Virginia Tech Center for Drug Discovery, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, United States
| | - Chringma Sherpa
- Basic Research Laboratory, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, MD 21702, United States
| | - Hao Li
- Department of Chemistry and Virginia Tech Center for Drug Discovery, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, United States
| | - Astha Verma
- Department of Chemistry and Virginia Tech Center for Drug Discovery, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, United States
| | - Stuart F J Le Grice
- Basic Research Laboratory, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, MD 21702, United States
| | - Webster L Santos
- Department of Chemistry and Virginia Tech Center for Drug Discovery, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, United States.
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Campos N, Myburgh R, Garcel A, Vautrin A, Lapasset L, Nadal ES, Mahuteau-Betzer F, Najman R, Fornarelli P, Tantale K, Basyuk E, Séveno M, Venables JP, Pau B, Bertrand E, Wainberg MA, Speck RF, Scherrer D, Tazi J. Long lasting control of viral rebound with a new drug ABX464 targeting Rev - mediated viral RNA biogenesis. Retrovirology 2015; 12:30. [PMID: 25889234 PMCID: PMC4422473 DOI: 10.1186/s12977-015-0159-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 70] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2015] [Accepted: 03/24/2015] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Current therapies have succeeded in controlling AIDS pandemic. However, there is a continuing need for new drugs, in particular those acting through new and as yet unexplored mechanisms of action to achieve HIV infection cure. We took advantage of the unique feature of proviral genome to require both activation and inhibition of splicing of viral transcripts to develop molecules capable of achieving long lasting effect on viral replication in humanized mouse models through inhibition of Rev-mediated viral RNA biogenesis. RESULTS Current HIV therapies reduce viral load during treatment but titers rebound after treatment is discontinued. We devised a new drug that has a long lasting effect after viral load reduction. We demonstrate here that ABX464 compromises HIV replication of clinical isolates of different subtypes without selecting for drug resistance in PBMCs or macrophages. ABX464 alone, also efficiently compromised viral proliferation in two humanized mouse models infected with HIV that require a combination of 3TC, Raltegravir and Tenofovir (HAART) to achieve viral inhibition in current protocols. Crucially, while viral load increased dramatically just one week after stopping HAART treatment, only slight rebound was observed following treatment cessation with ABX464 and the magnitude of the rebound was maintained below to that of HAART for two months after stopping the treatment. Using a system to visualize single HIV RNA molecules in living cells, we show that ABX464 inhibits viral replication by preventing Rev-mediated export of unspliced HIV-1 transcripts to the cytoplasm and by interacting with the Cap Binding Complex (CBC). Deep sequencing of viral RNA from treated cells established that retained viral RNA is massively spliced but importantly, normal cellular splicing is unaffected by the drug. Consistently ABX464 is non-toxic in humans and therefore represents a promising complement to current HIV therapies. CONCLUSIONS ABX464 represents a novel class of anti-HIV molecules with unique properties. ABX464 has a long lasting effect in humanized mice and neutralizes the expression of HIV-1 proviral genome of infected immune cells including reservoirs and it is therefore a promising drug toward a functional cure of HIV.
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Affiliation(s)
- Noëlie Campos
- ABIVAX, 1919 route de Mende, 34293, Montpellier Cedex 5, France.
| | - Renier Myburgh
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology Department of Internal Medicin, University of Zurich, University Hospital, Raemistrasse 100, 8091, Zurich, Switzerland.
| | - Aude Garcel
- ABIVAX, 1919 route de Mende, 34293, Montpellier Cedex 5, France.
| | - Audrey Vautrin
- Institut de Génétique Moléculaire de Montpellier, University of Montpellier, CNRS UMR 5535, 1919 route de Mende, 34293, Montpellier Cedex 5, France.
| | - Laure Lapasset
- Institut de Génétique Moléculaire de Montpellier, University of Montpellier, CNRS UMR 5535, 1919 route de Mende, 34293, Montpellier Cedex 5, France.
| | - Erika Schläpfer Nadal
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology Department of Internal Medicin, University of Zurich, University Hospital, Raemistrasse 100, 8091, Zurich, Switzerland.
| | - Florence Mahuteau-Betzer
- Institut Curie, CNRS UMR9187, INSERM U1196, Centre universitaire, Bâtiment 110, 15 rue Georges Clémenceau, 91405, ORSAY CEDEX, France.
| | - Romain Najman
- ABIVAX, 1919 route de Mende, 34293, Montpellier Cedex 5, France.
| | | | - Katjana Tantale
- Institut de Génétique Moléculaire de Montpellier, University of Montpellier, CNRS UMR 5535, 1919 route de Mende, 34293, Montpellier Cedex 5, France.
| | - Eugénia Basyuk
- Institut de Génétique Moléculaire de Montpellier, University of Montpellier, CNRS UMR 5535, 1919 route de Mende, 34293, Montpellier Cedex 5, France.
| | - Martial Séveno
- Plate-forme de Protéomique Fonctionnelle (FPP) IGF, UMR 5203 CNRS - INSERM U661- UM, 141 rue de la Cardonille (pièce 029), 34094, Montpellier CEDEX 05, France.
| | - Julian P Venables
- Institut de Génétique Moléculaire de Montpellier, University of Montpellier, CNRS UMR 5535, 1919 route de Mende, 34293, Montpellier Cedex 5, France.
| | - Bernard Pau
- Université de Montpellier, UFR Pharmacie, 15 Avenue Charles Flahault, 34000, Montpellier, France.
| | - Edouard Bertrand
- Institut de Génétique Moléculaire de Montpellier, University of Montpellier, CNRS UMR 5535, 1919 route de Mende, 34293, Montpellier Cedex 5, France.
| | - Mark A Wainberg
- McGill AIDS Center, Lady Davis Institute - Jewish General Hospital, Montréal, QC, Canada.
| | - Roberto F Speck
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology Department of Internal Medicin, University of Zurich, University Hospital, Raemistrasse 100, 8091, Zurich, Switzerland.
| | - Didier Scherrer
- ABIVAX, 1919 route de Mende, 34293, Montpellier Cedex 5, France.
| | - Jamal Tazi
- Institut de Génétique Moléculaire de Montpellier, University of Montpellier, CNRS UMR 5535, 1919 route de Mende, 34293, Montpellier Cedex 5, France.
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Dayton AI, Zhang MJ. Therapies directed against the Rev axis of HIV autoregulation. ADVANCES IN PHARMACOLOGY (SAN DIEGO, CALIF.) 2001; 49:199-228. [PMID: 11013765 DOI: 10.1016/s1054-3589(00)49028-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/17/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- A I Dayton
- Laboratory of Molecular Virology, Food and Drug Administration, Rockville, Maryland 20852-1448, USA
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Ikuta K, Suzuki S, Horikoshi H, Mukai T, Luftig RB. Positive and negative aspects of the human immunodeficiency virus protease: development of inhibitors versus its role in AIDS pathogenesis. Microbiol Mol Biol Rev 2000; 64:725-45. [PMID: 11104817 PMCID: PMC99012 DOI: 10.1128/mmbr.64.4.725-745.2000] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
In this review we summarize multiple aspects of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) protease from both structural and functional viewpoints. After an introductory overview, we provide an up-to-date status report on protease inhibitors (PI). This proceeds from a discussion of PI structural design, to how PI are optimally utilized in highly active antiretroviral triple therapy (one PI along with two reverse transcriptase inhibitors), the emergence of PI resistance, and the natural role of secretory leukocyte PI. Then we switch to another focus: the interaction of HIV protease with other genes in acute and persistent infection, which in turn may have an effect on AIDS pathogenesis. We conclude with a discussion on future directions in HIV treatment, involving multiple-target anti-HIV therapy, vaccine development, and novel reactivation-inhibitory reagents.
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Affiliation(s)
- K Ikuta
- Department of Virology, Research Institute for Microbial Diseases (Biken), Osaka University, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan.
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Adelson ME, Martinand-Mari C, Iacono KT, Muto NF, Suhadolnik RJ. Inhibition of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1) replication in SupT1 cells transduced with an HIV-1 LTR-driven PKR cDNA construct. EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF BIOCHEMISTRY 1999; 264:806-15. [PMID: 10491127 DOI: 10.1046/j.1432-1327.1999.00661.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Current strategies against the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1), including nucleoside analogues and protease inhibitors, have limited effectiveness as shown by the evolution of resistant retroviral strains and the presence of latent HIV-1 reservoirs. Therefore, it is necessary to look beyond anti-retroviral strategies and to rely on the body's immune system to inhibit HIV-1 replication. In this study, we approach the inhibition of HIV-1 replication by upregulation of the antiviral pathway that is natural to mammalian cells. Vectors were constructed which were capable of transferring the antiviral enzyme, p68 kinase (PKR), into target SupT1 lymphoblastoid cells under HIV-1 LTR transcriptional regulation via a retroviral-mediated shuttle system. We report a significant inhibition of HIV-1 replication in HIV-1 LTR-PKR cDNA transduced clones (105-10 : 239 and 106-4 : 560) expressing different PKR levels as measured by inhibition of HIV-1 induced syncytia formation and HIV-1 reverse transcriptase activity. Whereas the expression of PKR in parental vector transduced clone (N2-20P) is down-regulated 48 h after HIV-1 infection, the two transduced clones (one with PKR in the forward orientation and one in the reverse orientation) demonstrate increased PKR expression through 96 h post-infection, concomitant with an increase in eIF-2alpha phosphorylation and an increase in NF-kappaB activity at 72 h postinfection. These results demonstrate that the overexpression of PKR can inhibit HIV-1 replication and confirm the involvement of PKR in the IFN-associated antiviral pathway against HIV-1 infection. Finally, the treatment of the transduced clone 106-4 : 560 with AZT resulted in complete inhibition of HIV-1 replication.
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Affiliation(s)
- M E Adelson
- Fels Institute for Cancer Research, Department of Biochemistry, Temple University School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA
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