Publications

Inflammatory chemokines are often elevated in disease settings, where the largest group of CC-chemokines are the macrophage inflammatory proteins (MIP), which are promiscuous for the receptors CCR1 and CCR5. MIP chemokines, such as CCL3 and CCL5 are processed at the N terminus, which influences signaling in a highly diverse manner. Here, we investigate the signaling capacity of peptides corresponding to truncated N termini. These 3-10-residue ...

Introduction The chemokine receptor CCR5 is the main co-receptor for R5-tropic HIV-1 variants. We have previously described a novel 24-base pair deletion in the coding region of CCR5 among individuals from Rwanda. Here, we investigated the prevalence of hCCR5 Delta 24 in different cohorts and its impact on CCR5 expression and HIV-1 infection in vitro. Methods We screened hCCR5 Delta 24 in a total of 3232 individuals which were either HIV-1 ...

One of the most important functions of chemokines and their receptors is the regulation of directional migration of leukocytes within tissues. In specific tissue compartments, cells are exposed to multiple chemokines presented in complex dimensional and temporal patterns. Therefore, a leukocyte requires the mechanisms to integrate the various directional signals it receives from different chemoattractants. In this study, we report that CCL3, ...

OBJECTIVE: /st> C-C chemokine receptor type 5 (CCR5), a chemokine receptor expressed on T cells and macrophages, and its ligands are found in inflamed synovial tissue (ST) of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The rationale for testing CCR5 blockade in patients with RA was supported by the effects of a CCR5 antagonist in collagen-induced arthritis in rhesus monkeys. The effects of CCR5 blockade in patients with active RA were explored. ...

R4.0, a synthetic CCL5/RANTES-derived peptide, exerts potent anti-HIV-1 activity via its nonactivating interaction with CCR5, the major HIV-1 coreceptor. CCR5 chronic activation may promote undesirable inflammatory effects and enhance viral infection; thus, receptor antagonism is a necessary requisite. HIV-1 gp120, CCL5, and maraviroc dock on CCR5 by sharing two receptor sites: the N terminus and the second extracellular loop. In combination ...

Background and purpose. CCR5 is a coreceptor for HIV-1 infection and target for anti-viral therapy. A greater understanding of the binding kinetics of small molecule allosteric ligand interaction with CCR5 will lead to a better understanding of the binding process and may help discover new molecules that avoid resistance.
Experimental approach. Using [3H] maraviroc as a radioligand, a number of different binding protocols were employed in ...

Chemokine receptors are key regulators of cell migration in terms of immunity and inflammation. Among these, CCR5 and CXCR4 play pivotal roles in cancer metastasis and HIV-1 transmission and infection. They act as essential co-receptors for HIV and furnish a route to the cell entry. In particular, inhibition of either CCR5 or CXCR4 leads very often the virus to shift to a more virulent dual-tropic strain. Therefore, dual receptor inhibition ...

The viral resistance of marketed antiviral drugs including the emergence of new viral resistance of the only marketed CCR5 entry inhibitor, maraviroc, makes it necessary to develop new CCR5 allosteric inhibitors. A mutagenesis/modeling approach was used (a) to remove the potential hERG liability in an otherwise very promising series of compounds and (b) to design a new class of compounds with an unique mutant fingerprint profile depending on ...

Based on the attrition rate of CCR5 small molecule antagonists in the clinic the discovery and development of next generation antagonists with an improved pharmacology and safety profile is necessary. Herein, we describe a combined molecular modeling, CCR5-mediated cell fusion, and receptor site-directed mutagenesis approach to study the molecular interactions of six structurally diverse compounds (aplaviroc, maraviroc, vicriviroc, TAK-779, ...

Despite scientific evidence originating from two patients published to date that CCR5 Delta 32/Delta 32 hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) can cure human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1), the knowledge of immunological and virological correlates of cure is limited. Here we characterize a case of long-term HIV-1 remission of a 53-year-old male who was carefully monitored for more than 9 years after allogeneic CCR5 Delta 32/Delta ...