Target Molecules and Delivery Vehicles for Anti-HIV Drugs In vitro and In vivo

2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (29) ◽  
pp. 3393-3401 ◽  
Author(s):  
Azam Bolhassani

Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is the most serious stage of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection. The combinatorial Anti-Retroviral Therapy (cART) is widely used in suppressing HIV-1 infection and enhancing life span of infected patients to a significant level. However, delivery of therapeutic molecules is still a major challenge in vivo. The studies showed that the anti-HIV drugs delivered via nanocarriers could be selectively accumulated in infected cells accompanied by low side effects. On the other hand, HIV-1 infection kinetics is different in macrophages and T-cells suggesting various effects of antiretroviral drugs against HIV-1 in these target cells. Current anti-HIV therapeutic studies have focused on developing drug delivery systems targeted specifically to HIV-infected host cells. Indeed, the drug targeting can significantly lead to reduce in drug toxicity, drug dose, and increase in treatment efficacy through localizing its pharmacological activity to the site of interest. This review describes development of novel drug targeting systems used in suppressing the transmission and treatment of HIV infections.

2008 ◽  
Vol 52 (6) ◽  
pp. 2111-2119 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hirotomo Nakata ◽  
Seth M. Steinberg ◽  
Yasuhiro Koh ◽  
Kenji Maeda ◽  
Yoshikazu Takaoka ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Aplaviroc (AVC), an experimental CCR5 inhibitor, potently blocks in vitro the infection of R5-tropic human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (R5-HIV-1) at subnanomolar 50% inhibitory concentrations. Although maraviroc is presently clinically available, further studies are required to determine the role of CCR5 inhibitors in combinations with other drugs. Here we determined anti-HIV-1 activity using combinations of AVC with various anti-HIV-1 agents, including four U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved drugs, two CCR5 inhibitors (TAK779 and SCH-C) and two CXCR4 inhibitors (AMD3100 and TE14011). Combination effects were defined as synergistic or antagonistic when the activity of drug A combined with B was statistically greater or less, respectively, than the additive effects of drugs A and A combined and drugs B and B combined by using the Combo method, described in this paper, which provides (i) a flexible choice of interaction models and (ii) the use of nonparametric statistical methods. Synergistic effects against R5-HIV-1Ba-L and a 50:50 mixture of R5-HIV-1Ba-L and X4-HIV-1ERS104pre (HIV-1Ba-L/104pre) were seen when AVC was combined with zidovudine, nevirapine, indinavir, or enfuvirtide. Mild synergism and additivity were observed when AVC was combined with TAK779 and SCH-C, respectively. We also observed more potent synergism against HIV-1Ba-L/104pre when AVC was combined with AMD3100 or TE14011. The data demonstrate a tendency toward greater synergism with AVC plus either of the two CXCR4 inhibitors compared to the synergism obtained with combinations of AVC and other drugs, suggesting that the development of effective CXCR4 inhibitors may be important for increasing the efficacies of CCR5 inhibitors.


Author(s):  
Melappa Govindappa ◽  
V. Thanuja ◽  
S. Tejashree ◽  
C.A. Soukhya ◽  
Suresh Barge ◽  
...  

The present work was aimed to identify phytochemicals in C. uredinicola methanol extract from qualitative, TLC and GC-MS method and evaluated for antioxidant, anti-HIV, anti-diabetes, anti-cholinesterase activity in vitro and in silico. The C. uredinicola extract showed flavonoids, tannins, alkaloids, glycosides, phenols, terpenoids, and coumarins presence in qualitative method. From GC-MS analysis, identified seven different phytochemicals and out of seven, four (coumarin, coumarilic acid, hymecromone, alloisoimperatorin) are coumarins. The C. uredinicola extract have shown significant antioxidant activity in DPPH (73) and FRAP (1359) method. The HIV-1 RT (83.81+2.14), gp 120 (80.24+2.31), integrase (79.43+3.14) and protease (77.63+2.14), DPPIV, β-glucosidase and acetyl cholinesterase activity was significantly reduced by the extract. The 2-diphenylmethyleneamino methyl ester had shown significant interaction with oxidant and HIV-1 proteins whereas alloisoimperatorin have interacted with diabetes and cholinesterase proteins followed by hymecromone with high binding energy. These three phytochemicals are non-carcinogens, non-toxic, readily degradable and have drug likeliness properties. The C. uredinicola phytochemicals are responsible for management of diabetes, HIV-1 and Alzheimer. Further in vivo work is needed to justify our research.


2015 ◽  
Vol 59 (6) ◽  
pp. 3140-3148 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steffen Wildum ◽  
Holger Zimmermann ◽  
Peter Lischka

ABSTRACTDespite modern prevention and treatment strategies, human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) remains a common opportunistic pathogen associated with serious morbidity and mortality in immunocompromised individuals, such as transplant recipients and AIDS patients. All drugs currently licensed for the treatment of HCMV infection target the viral DNA polymerase and are associated with severe toxicity issues and the emergence of drug resistance. Letermovir (AIC246, MK-8228) is a new anti-HCMV agent in clinical development that acts via a novel mode of action and has demonstrated anti-HCMV activityin vitroandin vivo. For the future, drug combination therapies, including letermovir, might be indicated under special medical conditions, such as the emergence of multidrug-resistant virus strains in transplant recipients or in HCMV-HIV-coinfected patients. Accordingly, knowledge of the compatibility of letermovir with other HCMV or HIV antivirals is of medical importance. Here, we evaluated the inhibition of HCMV replication by letermovir in combination with all currently approved HCMV antivirals using cell culture checkerboard assays. In addition, the effects of letermovir on the antiviral activities of selected HIV drugs, and vice versa, were analyzed. Using two different mathematical techniques to analyze the experimental data, (i) additive effects were observed for the combination of letermovir with anti-HCMV drugs and (ii) no interaction was found between letermovir and anti-HIV drugs. Since none of the tested drug combinations significantly antagonized letermovir efficacy (or vice versa), our findings suggest that letermovir may offer the potential for combination therapy with the tested HCMV and HIV drugs.


Nanomedicine ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samrajya Lakshmi Yeruva ◽  
Prashant Kumar ◽  
Seetharam Deepa ◽  
Anand K Kondapi

Aim: We report here the development of tenofovir- and curcumin-loaded lactoferrin nanoparticles (TCNPs) as an HIV-microbicide. Materials & methods: TCNPs were subjected to various physicochemical characterization experiments, followed by in vitro and in vivo experiments to assess their efficacy. Results: TCNPs had a diameter of 74.31 ± 2.56 nm with a gross encapsulation of more than 61% for each drug. Nanoparticles were effective against HIV-1 replication, with an IC50 of 1.75 μM for curcumin and 2.8 μM for tenofovir. TCNPs provided drug release at the application site for up to 8–12 h, with minimal leakage into the systemic circulation. TCNPs showed spermicidal activity at ≥200 μM and induced minimal cytotoxicity and inflammation in the vaginal epithelium as revealed by histopathological and ELISA studies. Conclusion: We demonstrated that TCNPs could serve as a novel anti-HIV microbicidal agent in rats. [Formula: see text]


2019 ◽  
Vol 93 (11) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer A. Juno ◽  
Kathleen M. Wragg ◽  
Anne B. Kristensen ◽  
Wen Shi Lee ◽  
Kevin J. Selva ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Sexual HIV-1 transmission occurs primarily in the presence of semen. Although data from macaque studies suggest that CCR5+ CD4+ T cells are initial targets for HIV-1 infection, the impact of semen on T cell CCR5 expression and ligand production remains inconclusive. To determine if semen modulates the lymphocyte CCR5 receptor/ligand axis, primary human T cell CCR5 expression and natural killer (NK) cell anti-HIV-1 antibody-dependent beta chemokine production was assessed following seminal plasma (SP) exposure. Purified T cells produce sufficient quantities of RANTES to result in a significant decline in CCR5bright T cell frequency following 16 h of SP exposure (P = 0.03). Meanwhile, NK cells retain the capacity to produce limited amounts of MIP-1α/MIP-1β in response to anti-HIV-1 antibody-dependent stimulation (median, 9.5% MIP-1α+ and/or MIP-1β+), despite the immunosuppressive nature of SP. Although these in vitro experiments suggest that SP-induced CCR5 ligand production results in the loss of surface CCR5 expression on CD4+ T cells, the in vivo implications are unclear. We therefore vaginally exposed five pigtail macaques to SP and found that such exposure resulted in an increase in CCR5+ HIV-1 target cells in three of the animals. The in vivo data support a growing body of evidence suggesting that semen exposure recruits target cells to the vagina that are highly susceptible to HIV-1 infection, which has important implications for HIV-1 transmission and vaccine design. IMPORTANCE The majority of HIV-1 vaccine studies do not take into consideration the impact that semen exposure might have on the mucosal immune system. In this study, we demonstrate that seminal plasma (SP) exposure can alter CCR5 expression on T cells. Importantly, in vitro studies of T cells in culture cannot replicate the conditions under which immune cells might be recruited to the genital mucosa in vivo, leading to potentially erroneous conclusions about the impact of semen on mucosal HIV-1 susceptibility.


1999 ◽  
Vol 73 (3) ◽  
pp. 1828-1834 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mehdi Gasmi ◽  
Jacqueline Glynn ◽  
Ming-Jie Jin ◽  
Douglas J. Jolly ◽  
Jiing-Kuan Yee ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT A number of human immunodeficiency type 1 (HIV-1)-based vectors have recently been shown to transduce nondividing cells in vivo as well as in vitro. However, if these vectors are to be considered for eventual clinical use, a major consideration is to reduce the probability of unintended generation of replication-competent virus. This can be achieved by eliminating viral genetic elements involved in the generation of replication-competent virus without impairing vector production. We have designed a system to transiently produce HIV-1-based vectors by using expression plasmids encoding Gag, Pol, and Tat of HIV-1 under the control of the cytomegalovirus immediate-early promoter. Our data show that the best vector yield is achieved in the presence of the Rev/Rev-responsive element (RRE) system. However, the constitutive transport element of Mason-Pfizer monkey virus can substitute for RRE and Rev at least to some extent, whereas the posttranscriptional regulatory element of human hepatitis B virus appeared to be inefficient. In addition, we show that high-titer virus preparations can be obtained in the presence of sodium butyrate, which activates the expression of both the packaging construct and the vector genome. Finally, our results suggest that efficient infectivity of vectors defective in the accessory proteins Vif, Vpr, Vpu, and Nef depends on the nature of the target cells.


2017 ◽  
Vol 61 (12) ◽  
Author(s):  
Said A. Hassounah ◽  
Ahmad Alikhani ◽  
Maureen Oliveira ◽  
Simrat Bharaj ◽  
Ruxandra-Ilinca Ibanescu ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Animal models are essential to study novel antiretroviral drugs, resistance-associated mutations (RAMs), and treatment strategies. Bictegravir (BIC) is a novel potent integrase strand transfer inhibitor (INSTI) that has shown promising results against HIV-1 infection in vitro and in vivo and against clinical isolates with resistance against INSTIs. BIC has a higher genetic barrier to the development of resistance than two clinically approved INSTIs, termed raltegravir and elvitegravir. Another clinically approved INSTI, dolutegravir (DTG) also possesses a high genetic barrier to resistance, while a fourth compound, termed cabotegravir (CAB), is currently in late phases of clinical development. Here we report the susceptibilities of simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) and HIV-1 integrase (IN) mutants containing various RAMs to BIC, CAB, and DTG. BIC potently inhibited SIV and HIV-1 in single cycle infection with 50% effective concentrations (EC50s) in the low nM range. In single cycle SIV infections, none of the E92Q, T97A, Y143R, or N155H substitutions had a significant effect on susceptibility to BIC (≤4-fold increase in EC50), whereas G118R and R263K conferred ∼14-fold and ∼6-fold increases in EC50, respectively. In both single and multiple rounds of HIV-1 infections, BIC remained active against the Y143R, N155H, R263K, R263K/M50I, and R263K/E138K mutants (≤4-fold increase in EC50). In multiple rounds of infection, the G140S/Q148H combination of substitutions decreased HIV-1 susceptibility to BIC 4.8-fold compared to 16.8- and 7.4-fold for CAB and DTG, respectively. BIC possesses an excellent resistance profile in regard to HIV and SIV and could be useful in nonhuman primate models of HIV infection.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrés Mojoli ◽  
Barbara Simonson Gonçalves ◽  
Jairo R. Temerozo ◽  
Bruno Cister-Alves ◽  
Victor Geddes ◽  
...  

Abstract Neutrophils release extracellular traps (NETs) after interaction with microorganisms and physiological or synthetic products. NETs consist of decondensed chromatin complexed with proteins, some of them with microbicidal properties. Because NETs can modulate the functioning of HIV-1 target cells, we aimed to verify whether they modify HIV-1 replication in macrophages. We found that exposure of HIV-1-infected macrophages to NETs resulted in significant inhibition of viral replication. The NET anti-HIV-1 action was independent of other soluble factors released by the activated neutrophils, but otherwise dependent on the molecular integrity of NETs, since NET-treatment with protease or DNase abolished this effect. NETs induced macrophage production of the anti-HIV-1 β-chemokines Rantes and MIP-1β, and reduced the levels of integrated HIV-1 DNA in the macrophage genome, which may explain the decreased virus production by infected macrophages. Moreover, the residual virions released by NET-treated HIV-1-infected macrophages lost infectivity. In addition, elevated levels of DNA-elastase complexes were detected in the plasma from HIV-1-infected individuals, and neutrophils from these patients released NETs, which also inhibited HIV-1 replication in in vitro infected macrophages. Our results reveal that NETs may function as an innate immunity mechanism able to restrain HIV-1 production in macrophages.


AIDS ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 319-323 ◽  
Author(s):  
Moira A McMahon ◽  
Janet D Siliciano ◽  
Rahul M Kohli ◽  
Robert F Siliciano

2005 ◽  
Vol 79 (21) ◽  
pp. 13579-13586 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. David Wick ◽  
Otto O. Yang ◽  
Lawrence Corey ◽  
Steven G. Self

ABSTRACT The antiviral role of CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) in human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection is poorly understood. Specifically, the degree to which CTLs reduce viral replication by killing HIV-1-infected cells in vivo is not known. Here we employ mathematical models of the infection process and CTL action to estimate the rate that CTLs can kill HIV-1-infected cells from in vitro and in vivo data. Our estimates, which are surprisingly consistent considering the disparities between the two experimental systems, demonstrate that on average CTLs can kill from 0.7 to 3 infected target cells per day, with the variability in this figure due to epitope specificity or other factors. These results are compatible with the observed decline in viremia after primary infection being primarily a consequence of CTL activity and have interesting implications for vaccine design.


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