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Piperidine CD4-mimetic compounds expose vulnerable Env epitopes sensitizing HIV-1-infected cells to ADCC

Ding, S.; Tolbert, W. D.; Zhu, H.; Lee, D.; Higgins, T.; Zhao, X.; Nguyen, D.; Sherburn, R.; Richard, J.; Gendron-Lepage, G.; Medjahed, H.; Mohammadi, M.; Abrams, C.; Pazgier, M.; Smith, A. B.; Finzi, A.

2023-03-25 immunology
10.1101/2023.03.23.533923 bioRxiv
Show abstract

The ability of HIV-1 accessory proteins Nef and Vpu to decrease CD4 levels contributes to the protection of infected cells from antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) by preventing the exposure of Env vulnerable epitopes. Small-molecule CD4 mimetics (CD4mc) based on the indane and piperidine scaffolds such as (+)-BNM-III-170 and (S)-MCG-IV-210 sensitize HIV-1 infected cells to ADCC by exposing CD4-induced (CD4i) epitopes recognized by non-neutralizing antibodies abundantly present in plasma from people living with HIV. Here, we characterize a new family of CD4mc, (S)-MCG-IV-210 derivatives, based on the piperidine scaffold which engage the gp120 within the Phe43 cavity by targeting the highly-conserved Asp368 Env residue. We utilized structure-based approaches and developed a series of piperidine analogs with improved activity to inhibit infection of difficult-to-neutralize tier-2 viruses and sensitize infected cells to ADCC mediated by HIV+ plasma. Moreover, the new analogs formed an H-bond with the -carboxylic acid group of Asp368, opening a new avenue to enlarge the breadth of this family of anti-Env small molecules. Overall, the new structural and biological attributes of these molecules make them good candidates for strategies aimed at the elimination HIV-1-infected cells.

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