Enhanced anti-HIV-1 activity of CC-chemokine LD78 beta, a non-allelic variant of MIP-1 alpha/LD78 alpha

We compared the anti-HIV-1 activity of CC-chemokine LD78 beta with that of MIP-1 alpha, another CC-chemokine which shows 94% sequence homology with LD 78 beta, Despite its close similarity to MIP-1 alpha, the anti-HIV-1 activi ty of LD78 beta appeared to be nearly 10 times higher than that of MIP-1 al pha. Mutagenesis of MIP-1 alpha showed that the N-terminal additional tetra peptide, which was present in LD78 beta and absent in MIP-1 alpha, is respo nsible for enhanced anti-HIV-1 activity. The N-terminal structure-function relationship of LD78 beta described here will be of value in understanding the chemokine-receptor interactions and designing anti-HIV-1 compounds base d on LD78 beta. (C) 1999 Federation of European Biochemical Societies.