The Czech Republic, a part of the former Czechoslovakia, has been at the forefront of several research directions in virology, genetics and physiology [...].

• MeSH
• virologie * MeSH
• Publikační typ
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• úvodníky MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Česká republika MeSH

Several strategies have been developed to fight viral infections, not only in humans but also in animals and plants. Some of them are based on the development of efficient vaccines, to target the virus by developed antibodies, others focus on finding antiviral compounds with activities that inhibit selected virus replication steps. Currently, there is an increasing number of antiviral drugs on the market; however, some have unpleasant side effects, are toxic to cells, or the viruses quickly develop resistance to them. As the current situation shows, the combination of multiple antiviral strategies or the combination of the use of various compounds within one strategy is very important. The most desirable are combinations of drugs that inhibit different steps in the virus life cycle. This is an important issue especially for RNA viruses, which replicate their genomes using error-prone RNA polymerases and rapidly develop mutants resistant to applied antiviral compounds. Here, we focus on compounds targeting viral structural capsid proteins, thereby inhibiting virus assembly or disassembly, virus binding to cellular receptors, or acting by inhibiting other virus replication mechanisms. This review is an update of existing papers on a similar topic, by focusing on the most recent advances in the rapidly evolving research of compounds targeting capsid proteins of RNA viruses.

• Klíčová slova
• antiviral compounds, antivirals, assembly inhibitor, capsid assembly, capsid binding, capsid targeting, virus inhibitor,
• MeSH
• antivirové látky chemie   farmakologie   MeSH
• infekce RNA viry farmakoterapie   virologie   MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• replikace viru účinky léků   MeSH
• RNA-viry účinky léků   fyziologie   MeSH
• sestavení viru účinky léků   MeSH
• virové plášťové proteiny antagonisté a inhibitory   MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• přehledy MeSH
• Názvy látek
• antivirové látky MeSH
• virové plášťové proteiny MeSH

Fullerene derivatives with hydrophilic substituents have been shown to exhibit a range of biological activities, including antiviral ones. For a long time, the anti-HIV activity of fullerene derivatives was believed to be due to their binding into the hydrophobic pocket of HIV-1 protease, thereby blocking its activity. Recent work, however, brought new evidence of a novel, protease-independent mechanism of fullerene derivatives' action. We studied in more detail the mechanism of the anti-HIV-1 activity of N,N-dimethyl[70]fulleropyrrolidinium iodide fullerene derivatives. By using a combination of in vitro and cell-based approaches, we showed that these C70 derivatives inhibited neither HIV-1 protease nor HIV-1 maturation. Instead, our data indicate effects of fullerene C70 derivatives on viral genomic RNA packaging and HIV-1 cDNA synthesis during reverse transcription-without impairing reverse transcriptase activity though. Molecularly, this could be explained by a strong binding affinity of these fullerene derivatives to HIV-1 nucleocapsid domain, preventing its proper interaction with viral genomic RNA, thereby blocking reverse transcription and HIV-1 infectivity. Moreover, the fullerene derivatives' oxidative activity and fluorescence quenching, which could be one of the reasons for the inconsistency among reported anti-HIV-1 mechanisms, are discussed herein.

• Klíčová slova
• HIV-1, RNA packaging, fullerene, inhibition, nucleocapsid,
• MeSH
• fullereny metabolismus   farmakologie   MeSH
• genom virový účinky léků   MeSH
• genové produkty gag - virus lidské imunodeficience metabolismus   MeSH
• HEK293 buňky MeSH
• HIV-1 účinky léků   genetika   metabolismus   fyziologie   MeSH
• látky proti HIV metabolismus   farmakologie   MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• nukleokapsida - proteiny metabolismus   MeSH
• reverzní transkripce MeSH
• RNA virová metabolismus   MeSH
• svlékání virového obalu účinky léků   MeSH
• vazba proteinů MeSH
• virion metabolismus   MeSH
• zabalení virového genomu účinky léků   MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Názvy látek
• fullereny MeSH
• genové produkty gag - virus lidské imunodeficience MeSH
• látky proti HIV MeSH
• nukleokapsida - proteiny MeSH
• RNA virová MeSH

Proper assembly and disassembly of both immature and mature HIV-1 hexameric lattices are critical for successful viral replication. These processes are facilitated by several host-cell factors, one of which is myo-inositol hexaphosphate (IP6). IP6 participates in the proper assembly of Gag into immature hexameric lattices and is incorporated into HIV-1 particles. Following maturation, IP6 is also likely to participate in stabilizing capsid protein-mediated mature hexameric lattices. Although a structural-functional analysis of the importance of IP6 in the HIV-1 life cycle has been reported, the effect of IP6 has not yet been quantified. Using two in vitro methods, we quantified the effect of IP6 on the assembly of immature-like HIV-1 particles, as well as its stabilizing effect during disassembly of mature-like particles connected with uncoating. We analyzed a broad range of molar ratios of protein hexamers to IP6 molecules during assembly and disassembly. The specificity of the IP6-facilitated effect on HIV-1 particle assembly and stability was verified by K290A, K359A, and R18A mutants. In addition to IP6, we also tested other polyanions as potential assembly cofactors or stabilizers of viral particles.IMPORTANCE Various host cell factors facilitate critical steps in the HIV-1 replication cycle. One of these factors is myo-inositol hexaphosphate (IP6), which contributes to assembly of HIV-1 immature particles and helps maintain the well-balanced metastability of the core in the mature infectious virus. Using a combination of two in vitro methods to monitor assembly of immature HIV-1 particles and disassembly of the mature core-like structure, we quantified the contribution of IP6 and other small polyanion molecules to these essential steps in the viral life cycle. Our data showed that IP6 contributes substantially to increasing the assembly of HIV-1 immature particles. Additionally, our analysis confirmed the important role of two HIV-1 capsid lysine residues involved in interactions with IP6. We found that myo-inositol hexasulphate also stabilized the HIV-1 mature particles in a concentration-dependent manner, indicating that targeting this group of small molecules may have therapeutic potential.

• Klíčová slova
• HIV-1, IP6, assembly, capsid, immature, mature, polyanion,
• MeSH
• genové produkty gag - virus lidské imunodeficience chemie   genetika   metabolismus   MeSH
• HIV-1 chemie   genetika   MeSH
• missense mutace MeSH
• polyelektrolyty MeSH
• polymery chemie   MeSH
• sestavení viru * MeSH
• substituce aminokyselin MeSH
• vztahy mezi strukturou a aktivitou MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Názvy látek
• genové produkty gag - virus lidské imunodeficience MeSH
• polyanions MeSH Prohlížeč
• polyelektrolyty MeSH
• polymery MeSH

A major structural retroviral protein, capsid protein (CA), is able to oligomerize into two different hexameric lattices, which makes this protein a key component for both the early and late stages of HIV-1 replication. During the late stage, the CA protein, as part of the Gag polyprotein precursor, facilitates protein-protein interactions that lead to the assembly of immature particles. Following protease activation and Gag polyprotein processing, CA also drives the assembly of the mature viral core. In the early stage of infection, the role of the CA protein is distinct. It controls the disassembly of the mature CA hexameric lattice i.e., uncoating, which is critical for the reverse transcription of the single-stranded RNA genome into double stranded DNA. These properties make CA a very attractive target for small molecule functioning as inhibitors of HIV-1 particle assembly and/or disassembly. Of these, inhibitors containing the PF74 scaffold have been extensively studied. In this study, we reported a series of modifications of the PF74 molecule and its characterization through a combination of biochemical and structural approaches. Our data supported the hypothesis that PF74 stabilizes the mature HIV-1 CA hexameric lattice. We identified derivatives with a higher in vitro stabilization activity in comparison to the original PF74 molecule.

• Klíčová slova
• HIV-1 CA inhibitor, PF74 derivatives, disassembly, uncoating,
• MeSH
• HIV-1 účinky léků   MeSH
• indoly chemická syntéza   chemie   farmakologie   MeSH
• látky proti HIV chemická syntéza   chemie   farmakologie   MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• magnetická rezonanční spektroskopie MeSH
• molekulární konformace MeSH
• molekulární modely MeSH
• molekulární struktura MeSH
• racionální návrh léčiv MeSH
• rekombinantní proteiny MeSH
• sestavení viru účinky léků   MeSH
• techniky syntetické chemie MeSH
• virion účinky léků   ultrastruktura   MeSH
• virové plášťové proteiny antagonisté a inhibitory   MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• Názvy látek
• indoly MeSH
• látky proti HIV MeSH
• rekombinantní proteiny MeSH
• virové plášťové proteiny MeSH