Conformational properties of the third variable loop of HIV-1AD8 envelope glycoprotein in the liganded conditions.

The conformational dynamics of the HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein gp120 and gp41 (Env) remains poorly understood. Here we examined how the V3 loop conformation is regulated in the liganded state using a panel of recombinant HIV-1NL4-3 clones bearing HIV-1AD8 Env by two experimental approaches, one adopting a monoclonal neutralizing antibody KD-247 (suvizumab) that recognizes the tip of the V3 loop, and the other assessing the function of the V3 loop. A significant positive correlation of the Env-KD-247 binding was detected between the liganded and unliganded conditions. Namely, the mutation D163G located in the V2 loop, which enhances viral susceptibility to KD-247 by 59.4-fold, had little effect on the sCD4-induced increment of the virus-KD-247 binding. By contrast, a virus with the S370N mutation in the C3 region increased the virus-KD-247 binding by 91.4-fold, although it did not influence the KD-247-mediated neutralization. Co-receptor usage and the susceptibility to CCR5 inhibitor Maraviroc were unaffected by D163G and S370N mutations. Collectively, these data suggest that the conformation of the liganded V3-loop of HIV-1AD8 Env is still under regulation of other Env domains aside from the V3 loop, including V2 and C3. Our results give an insight into the structural properties of HIV-1 Env and viral resistance to entry inhibitors by non-V3 loop mutations.

Passive transfer of neutralizing mAb KD-247 reduces plasma viral load in patients chronically infected with HIV-1.

OBJECTIVE: Neutralizing antibodies against HIV-1 such as a humanized mAb KD-247 can mediate effector functions that attack infected cells in vitro. However, the clinical efficacy of neutralizing antibodies in infected individuals remains to be determined. We evaluated the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics of KD-247 infusion and its effect on plasma HIV-1 RNA load and CD4 T-cell count. DESIGN AND METHODS: KD-1002 is a phase Ib, double-blind, placebo-controlled, dose-escalation study of KD-247 in asymptomatic HIV-1 seropositive individuals who did not need antiretroviral therapy. Individuals were randomized to 4, 8 or 16 mg/kg KD-247 or placebo, and received three infusions over a 2-week period. RESULTS: Patients were randomized to receive one of the three doses of KD-247 and the treatment was well tolerated. We observed a significant decrease in HIV RNA in the 8 and 16 mg/kg KD-247 cohorts, with two individuals who achieved more than 1 log reduction of HIV RNA. Two patients in the 16 mg/kg cohort had selections and/or mutations in the V3-tip region that suggested evasion of neutralization. Long-term suppression of viral load was observed in one patient despite a significant decrease in plasma concentration of KD-247, suggesting effects of the antibody other than neutralization or loss of fitness of the evading virus. CONCLUSION: The results indicate that KD-247 reduces viral load in patients with chronic HIV-1 infection and further clinical trials are warranted.

Structural basis of clade-specific HIV-1 neutralization by humanized anti-V3 monoclonal antibody KD-247.

Humanized monoclonal antibody KD-247 targets the Gly(312)-Pro(313)-Gly(314)-Arg(315) arch of the third hypervariable (V3) loop of the HIV-1 surface glycoprotein. It potently neutralizes many HIV-1 clade B isolates, but not of other clades. To understand the molecular basis of this specificity, we solved a high-resolution (1.55 Å) crystal structure of the KD-247 antigen binding fragment and examined the potential interactions with various V3 loop targets. Unlike most antibodies, KD-247 appears to interact with its target primarily through light chain residues. Several of these interactions involve Arg(315) of the V3 loop. To evaluate the role of light chain residues in the recognition of the V3 loop, we generated 20 variants of KD-247 single-chain variable fragments with mutations in the antigen-binding site. Purified proteins were assessed for V3 loop binding using AlphaScreen technology and for HIV-1 neutralization. Our data revealed that recognition of the clade-specificity defining residue Arg(315) of the V3 loop is based on a network of interactions that involve Tyr(L32), Tyr(L92), and Asn(L27d) that directly interact with Arg(315), thus elucidating the molecular interactions of KD-247 with its V3 loop target.

Strict limit on CPT violation from polarization of γ-ray bursts.

We report the strictest observational verification of CPT invariance in the photon sector, as a result of γ-ray polarization measurement of distant gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), which are the brightest stellar-sized explosions in the Universe. We detected γ-ray polarization of three GRBs with high significance levels, and the source distances may be constrained by a well-known luminosity indicator for GRBs. For the Lorentz- and CPT-violating dispersion relation E(±)(2) = p(2) ± 2ξp(3)/M(Pl), where ± denotes different circular polarization states of the photon, the parameter ξ is constrained as |ξ|

[Factors related to subjective fatigue symptoms of adolescent girls].

OBJECTIVES: To assess changes in subjective fatigue symptoms of adolescent girls over a 15-year period and investigate factors related to these symptoms. METHODS: A total of 86 items on physical health (including subjective fatigue symptoms), dietary life, and daily living were investigated and five items on physical activity were measured for approximately 100 female first-year dietetic students at a junior college each October over the 15-year period from 1994 to 2008. A total of 1,547 students (mean age, 19.2 +/- 0.3 years) were studied. Subjects were first divided into two groups using the median subjective fatigue score as the cutoff point, and annual changes in the proportion of students in the high subjective fatigue group were investigated by simple regression analysis. In addition, relationships between the two subjective fatigue groups and each item were investigated. RESULTS: 1) The proportion of students with many subjective fatigue symptoms showed a significantly increasing trend over the 15-year period. 2) Investigation of relationships between subjective fatigue symptoms and each factor revealed significance for many items, including dietary habits, life satisfaction, amount of sleep, and desire for a positive body image. 3) In order to determine which of the items were most strongly related to subjective fatigue symptoms, multiple logistic regression analysis was performed for the 15-year period as well as three 5-year periods into which it was divided. The results showed that the dietary habits score (an indicator of dietary habits) and life satisfaction were related to subjective fatigue symptoms during all four periods. As for other items, relationships were observed for amount of sleep in three, diet and salt intake score in two, and liking for coffee/tea, juice drinks, and oily food, bedtime snack, desire for body image, self-assessment of body type, and health consciousness in one. CONCLUSION: These findings indicate that perspectives in education for promoting the health of adolescent girls must include attention to dietary habits, satisfaction with life, and correct awareness of body type.

Regulation of the susceptibility of HIV-1 to a neutralizing antibody KD-247 by nonepitope mutations distant from its epitope.

OBJECTIVE: A humanized neutralizing antibody, KD-247, targets the V3 loop of HIV-1 Env. HIV-1 bearing the GPGR sequence at the V3 loop is potentially susceptible to KD-247. However, not all GPGR-positive HIV-1 isolates are neutralized by KD-247. We examined the potential mechanism by which the susceptibility of HIV-1 to KD-247-mediated neutralization is regulated. DESIGN: We searched for nonepitope neutralization regulatory (NNR) mutations that sensitize GPGR-bearing HIV-1AD8 to KD-247 and mapped the locations of such mutations relative to the V3 loop. METHODS: : We generated a functional HIV-1AD8 Env library, and evaluated the viral susceptibility to KD-247 by measuring the half-inhibitory concentration (IC50) to KD-247 on TZM-bl cell assay. RESULTS: We identified nine KD-247-sensitizing NNR mutations from 30 mutations in various regions of gp120, including the V1/V2 loop, C2, V3 loop, C4, and C5. They specifically affected KD-247-mediated neutralization, as they did not affect the b12-mediated neutralization. When combined, the KD-247-sensitizing NNR mutations additively sensitized the virus to KD-247 by up to 10 000 folds. The KD-247-sensitizing NNR mutations increased KD-247 binding to the virion. Notably, the NNR mutation in C4 coincides with the CD4-binding site of gp120. CONCLUSION: Given that most of the KD-247-sensitizing NNR mutations are remote from V3 loop, it is reasonable to hypothesize that the steady-state, local conformation of the V3 loop is regulated by the interdomain contact of gp120. Our mutational analysis complements crystallographic studies by helping provide a better understanding of the steady-state conformation and the functional geometry of Env.

Production-scale purification of the recombinant major house dust mite allergen Der f 2 mutant C8/119S.

A WHO position paper states that allergen immunotherapy is an effective treatment for allergic diseases, and well characterized allergens should be used in immunotherapy. The house dust mite is a major cause of allergic disease. However, the biological activity of the mite extracts currently used cannot be clearly determined, since these extracts contain various impurities. The use of recombinant allergens can avoid this problem. However, there remains a risk of contamination by other impurities, such as host cell-derived proteins (HCPs). Advanced purification techniques are thus required to remove these contaminants. C8/119S is a mutant of the major house dust mite allergen Der f 2, and is expressed and accumulated as an inclusion body in Escherichia coli. The C8/119S was refolded and purified through three column chromatography steps. Using this method, we could obtain about 2g of the purified C8/119S in one purification batch. This amount is equivalent to 100,000 of the maintenance doses required for immunotherapy based on the WHO position paper. The purity of the C8/119S was 99% or more. The antigenicity of HCPs in the C8/119S was examined by passive cutaneous anaphylaxis assays. When the C8/119S was administered at 40 µg/kg, no local anaphylaxis was observed. C8/119S was thus highly purified with an extremely low level of impurities, and our procedure was shown to be an effective advanced production-scale purification process for this Der f 2 mutant. In this study, we established an advanced purification processes for C8/119S, then characterized the purified C8/119S and evaluated its purity.

Postinfection passive transfer of KD-247 protects against simian/human immunodeficiency virus-induced CD4+ T-cell loss in macaque lymphoid tissue.

BACKGROUND: Preadministration of high-affinity humanized anti-HIV-1 mAb KD-247 by passive transfer provides sterile protection of monkeys from heterologous chimeric simian/human immunodeficiency virus infection. METHODS: Beginning 1 h, 1 day, or 1 week after simian/human immunodeficiency virus-C2/1 challenge (20 50% tissue culture infective dose), mature, male cynomolgus monkeys received multiple passive transfers of KD-247 (45 mg/kg) on a weekly basis for approximately 2 months. Concentrations and viral loads were measured in peripheral blood, and CD4 T-cell counts were examined in both peripheral blood and various lymphoid tissues. RESULTS: Pharmacokinetic examination revealed similar plasma maintenance levels ranging from 200 to 500 microg/ml of KD-247 in the three groups. One of the six monkeys given KD-247 could not maintain these concentrations, and elicitation of anti-KD-247 idiotype antibody was suggested. All monkeys given KD-247 exhibited striking postinfection protection against both CD4 T-cell loss in various lymphoid tissues and atrophic changes in organs compared with control group animals treated with normal human immunoglobulin G. The KD-247-treated groups were also partially protected against plasma viral load elevation in peripheral blood samples, although the complete protection previously reported with preadministration of this mAb was not achieved. CONCLUSION: Postinfection passive transfer of humanized mAb KD-247 with strong neutralizing capacity against challenged virus simian/human immunodeficiency virus-C2/1 protected CD4 T cells in lymphoid organs.

Large-scale production of major house dust mite allergen der f 2 mutant (C8/119S) in Escherichia coli.

Hyposensitization, in which causative antigens of allergic diseases are injected, is the sole means of a radical cure for allergic diseases. Since the therapeutic allergens currently used are naturally extracted, producing preparations with a stable titer from such extracts is extremely difficult. There are several reports on the expression of recombinant mite allergens in Escherichia coli using inducers. The use of an inducer for industrial production will lead to high costs and, for therapeutic use, it must be removed in the purification process. C8/119S is a mutant of Der f 2, a major house dust mite allergen. The C8/119S gene was integrated downstream of the trp promoter to produce the expression plasmid (pWU11-C8/119S). Then, this expression plasmid was used to transform E. coli strain HB101 (pWU11-C8/119S/HB101). A recombinant E. coli pWU11-C8/119S/HB101 did not express C8/119S in a low-temperature culture (32 degrees C), but C8/119S was induced to a high level of expression in a high-temperature culture (37 degrees C). pWU11-C8/119S/HB101 proliferated when expression was induced by high temperature and an approximately 3-fold greater proliferation was obtained compared with the use of an inducer in a large-scale culture. The C8/119S protein was expressed as inclusion bodies and obtained by refolding and chromatography purifications. The immunological properties of C8/119S were assessed by western blotting. Western blotting demonstrated that purified C8/119S reacted with a monoclonal anti-Der f 2 antibody (18G8). pWU11-C8/119S/HB101 can be used as an easy, low cost expression system on a large scale. It is also advantageous for industrial production in that the addition of an inducer is not required to achieve expression of the mite allergen.

Impact of V2 mutations on escape from a potent neutralizing anti-V3 monoclonal antibody during in vitro selection of a primary human immunodeficiency virus type 1 isolate.

KD-247, a humanized monoclonal antibody to an epitope of gp120-V3 tip, has potent cross-neutralizing activity against subtype B primary human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) isolates. To assess how KD-247 escape mutants can be generated, we induced escape variants by exposing bulked primary R5 virus, MOKW, to increasing concentrations of KD-247 in vitro. In the presence of relatively low concentrations of KD-247, viruses with two amino acid mutations (R166K/D167N) in V2 expanded, and under high KD-247 pressure, a V3 tip substitution (P313L) emerged in addition to the V2 mutations. However, a virus with a V2 175P mutation dominated during passaging in the absence of KD-247. Using domain swapping analysis, we demonstrated that the V2 mutations and the P313L mutation in V3 contribute to partial and complete resistance phenotypes against KD-247, respectively. To identify the V2 mutation responsible for the resistance to KD-247, we constructed pseudoviruses with single or double amino acid mutations in V2 and measured their sensitivity to neutralization. Interestingly, the neutralization phenotypes were switched, so that amino acid residue 175 (Pro or Leu) located in the center of V2 was exchanged, indicating that the amino acid at position 175 has a crucial role, dramatically changing the Env oligomeric state on the membrane surface and affecting the neutralization phenotype against not only anti-V3 antibody but also recombinant soluble CD4. These data suggested that HIV-1 can escape from anti-V3 antibody attack by changing the conformation of the functional envelope oligomer by acquiring mutations in the V2 region in environments with relatively low antibody concentrations.

Resistance profile of a neutralizing anti-HIV monoclonal antibody, KD-247, that shows favourable synergism with anti-CCR5 inhibitors.

BACKGROUND: The high-affinity humanized monoclonal antibody (MAb) KD-247 reacts with a tip region in gp120-V3 and cross-neutralizes primary isolates with a matching neutralization sequence motif. METHODS: We induced an HIV-1 variant that was resistant to KD-247 by exposing the JR-FL virus to increasing concentrations of KD-247 in PM1/CCR5 cells, which expressed high levels of CCR5 in vitro. We determined the amino acid sequence of the gp120-encoding region of the JR-FL escape mutant from KD-247. To confirm that this substitution was responsible for the KD-247-resistance, a single-round replication assay was performed. We further evaluated the anti-HIV-1 interactions between KD-247 and various CCR5 inhibitors in vitro. RESULTS: At passage 8 of the culture in the presence of 1000 mug/ml KD-247, one amino acid substitution, Gly to Glu at position 314 (G314E), was identified in the V3-tip of gp120. A pseudotyped virus with the G314E mutation was highly resistant to KD-247. Unexpectedly, this mutant virus was sensitive to CCR5 inhibitors, RANTES, recombinant human soluble CD4 (rsCD4) and an anti-CCR5 MAb, but resistant to an anti-CD4 MAb, compared with the wild-type virus. We also found that combinations of KD-247 and CCR5 inhibitors were highly synergistic. CONCLUSIONS: The present data suggest that KD-247 has certain advantages for possible passive immunotherapy. They are: high concentrations of KD-247 are needed for viral acquisition of KD-247 resistance; the escape variants are more sensitive to CCR5 inhibitors and rsCD4; and there are high levels of synergism between KD-247 and CCR5 inhibitors at all concentrations tested.

Anti-V3 humanized antibody KD-247 effectively suppresses ex vivo generation of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 and affords sterile protection of monkeys against a heterologous simian/human immunodeficiency virus infection.

In an accompanying report (Y. Eda, M. Takizawa, T. Murakami, H. Maeda, K. Kimachi, H. Yonemura, S. Koyanagi, K. Shiosaki, H. Higuchi, K. Makizumi, T. Nakashima, K. Osatomi, S. Tokiyoshi, S. Matsushita, N. Yamamoto, and M. Honda, J. Virol. 80:5552-5562, 2006), we discuss our production of a high-affinity humanized monoclonal antibody, KD-247, by sequential immunization with V3 peptides derived from human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) clade B primary isolates. Epitope mapping revealed that KD-247 recognized the Pro-Gly-Arg V3 tip sequence conserved in HIV-1 clade B isolates. In this study, we further demonstrate that in vitro, KD-247 efficiently neutralizes CXCR4- and CCR5-tropic primary HIV-1 clade B and clade B' with matching neutralization sequence motifs but does not neutralize sequence-mismatched clade B and clade E isolates. Monkeys were provided sterile protection against heterologous simian/human immunodeficiency virus challenge by the passive transfer of a single high dose (45 mg per kg of body weight) of KD-247 and afforded partial protection by lower antibody doses (30 and 15 mg per kg). Protective neutralization endpoint titers in plasma at the time of virus challenge were 1:160 in animals passively transferred with a high dose of the antibody. The antiviral efficacy of the antibody was further confirmed by its suppression of the ex vivo generation of primary HIV-1 quasispecies in peripheral blood mononuclear cell cultures from HIV-infected individuals. Therefore, KD-247 promises to be a valuable tool not only as a passive immunization antibody for the prevention of HIV infection but also as an immunotherapy for the suppression of HIV in phenotype-matched HIV-infected individuals.

Sequential immunization with V3 peptides from primary human immunodeficiency virus type 1 produces cross-neutralizing antibodies against primary isolates with a matching narrow-neutralization sequence motif.

An antibody response capable of neutralizing not only homologous but also heterologous forms of the CXCR4-tropic human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) MNp and CCR5-tropic primary isolate HIV-1 JR-CSF was achieved through sequential immunization with a combination of synthetic peptides representing HIV-1 Env V3 sequences from field and laboratory HIV-1 clade B isolates. In contrast, repeated immunization with a single V3 peptide generated antibodies that neutralized only type-specific laboratory-adapted homologous viruses. To determine whether the cross-neutralization response could be attributed to a cross-reactive antibody in the immunized animals, we isolated a monoclonal antibody, C25, which neutralized the heterologous primary viruses of HIV-1 clade B. Furthermore, we generated a humanized monoclonal antibody, KD-247, by transferring the genes of the complementary determining region of C25 into genes of the human V region of the antibody. KD-247 bound with high affinity to the "PGR" motif within the HIV-1 Env V3 tip region, and, among the established reference antibodies, it most effectively neutralized primary HIV-1 field isolates possessing the matching neutralization sequence motif, suggesting its promise for clinical applications involving passive immunizations. These results demonstrate that sequential immunization with B-cell epitope peptides may contribute to a humoral immune-based HIV vaccine strategy. Indeed, they help lay the groundwork for the development of HIV-1 vaccine strategies that use sequential immunization with biologically relevant peptides to overcome difficulties associated with otherwise poorly immunogenic epitopes.

Repeated injections of energy in the first 600 ms of the giant flare of SGR 1806-20.

The massive flare of 27 December 2004 from the soft gamma-ray repeater SGR 1806-20, a possible magnetar, saturated almost all gamma-ray detectors, meaning that the profile of the pulse was poorly characterized. An accurate profile is essential to determine physically what was happening at the source. Here we report the unsaturated gamma-ray profile for the first 600 ms of the flare, with a time resolution of 5.48 ms. The peak of the profile (of the order of 10(7) photons cm(-2) s(-1)) was reached approximately 50 ms after the onset of the flare, and was then followed by a gradual decrease with superposed oscillatory modulations possibly representing repeated energy injections with approximately 60-ms intervals. The implied total energy is comparable to the stored magnetic energy in a magnetar (approximately 10(47) erg) based on the dipole magnetic field intensity (approximately 10(15) G), suggesting either that the energy release mechanism was extremely efficient or that the interior magnetic field is much stronger than the external dipole field.

Ex vivo neutralization of HIV-1 quasi-species by a broadly reactive humanized monoclonal antibody KD-247.

By immunizing mice sequentially with six different V3 peptides we obtained a murine monoclonal antibody (MAb) C25, and its humanized counterpart KD-247. The MAb recognizes the sequence IGPGRA at the tip of the V3 loop and displays broad neutralizing activity against a variety of HIV-1 isolates. KD-247 was tested in an ex vivo neutralization assay to determine its capability to contain the spread of a quasi species population of clade B HIV-1 derived from two patients. The epitope of KD-247 was generally matching with the V3 sequences of various clones isolated from plasma and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of two patients. Complete or strong inhibition of viral replication was observed when the patients' PBMC were cultured with a high concentration of KD-247. Some neutralization escape variants, which had mutations in the V3 or outside of the V3 loop, emerged only at a low concentration of the MAb. These results suggest that KD-247 could be a good candidate for immunotherapy against HIV-1 in vivo.