A VIRION-SPECIFIC INHIBITORY MOLECULE WITH THERAPEUTIC POTENTIAL FOR HUMAN-IMMUNODEFICIENCY-VIRUS TYPE-1

A potential new approach for gene therapy against human immunodeficien cy virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection is the design of a nonstructural gen e-based virion-specific inhibitory molecule that is packaged with viru s to destroy its infectivity. We tested this approach for HIV-1 by usi ng Vpx, a virion-associated protein of HIV-2 and simian immunodeficien cy virus. Vpx was incorporated into HIV-1 virions and the resulting ce ll-free virus lost infectivity in CD4+ human T cells. This demonstrate s the therapeutic potential of an accessory gene-based virion-specific inhibitory molecule. Vpx and its derivatives can be regarded as a new class of anti-HIV-1 molecule.