Progenics Identifies the HIV Docking Site on CCR5 Receptor
TARRYTOWN, N.Y., May 30 /PRNewswire/ -- Progenics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: PGNX) reported today the discovery of the binding site for HIV on CCR5, a receptor protein found on cells that plays a critical role in HIV entry and infection. The new structural data provide researchers with a better understanding of how HIV infects cells and will contribute to the development of novel therapies for HIV. Conducted by a collaborative team of researchers from Progenics, Albert Einstein College of Medicine (Bronx, NY) and Rockefeller University (New York, NY), the study was reported in the current issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA (Vol. 97, No. 11).
To pinpoint the HIV binding site, Progenics' scientists and their collaborators tested the binding of synthetic CCR5 molecules to the HIV envelope glycoprotein gp120, which resides on the surface of the virus and mediates HIV entry. They observed that HIV bound a particular region or sequence of CCR5 and that it only occurred when the site contained sulfate groups at specific locations. Sulfate groups are naturally added to certain receptors like CCR5 in vivo. These findings were confirmed in laboratory tests, which showed that sulfated CCR5 peptides blocked HIV infection of target cells. Progenics has used this discovery as the basis of a new scientific discovery program focusing on the development of antiviral therapies targeting the CCR5 binding site on HIV.
"These discoveries provide the first detailed description of the interactions between HIV and CCR5," said Ronald J. Prentki, President of Progenics. "We believe that these findings represent an important contribution to our understanding of how the virus infects cells and will ultimately advance the development of CCR5-based therapies for HIV infection." snip.....
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