Journal: Viruses
Article Title: HIV-1 Envelope Glycoprotein Cell Surface Localization Is Associated with Antibody-Induced Internalization
doi: 10.3390/v13101953
Figure Lengend Snippet: Antibody-induced internalization of Env from the surface of transfected cells. ( A ) Cell surface staining of 293T cells transfected with plasmid encoding JRFL Env alone or together with an expressor of the human CD4 receptor was performed 48-h post-transfection. Ab binding was quantified at 0-, 60-, 120- and 180-min using flow cytometry. Histograms depict representative staining of transfected cells and untransfected (gray) with 17b or 19b Abs. ( B , C ) The 293T cells were transfected with a plasmid encoding JRFL Env alone or together with an expressor of the human CD4 receptor and were stained with ( B ) 19b conjugated with Alexa Fluor 647 or ( C ) 17b conjugated with Alexa Fluor 594 for confocal microscopy analyses to visualize internalization. Alternatively, staining with 17b-sCD4 was performed in combination with the goat anti-human IgG Alexa Fluor 594 secondary Ab. ( B , C , Left panels) Images show the localization of antibody–Env complexes at different time points (0 and 120 min). Images represent a single confocal z-section through the middle of the cell; at least 25 cells were imaged per condition, and representative images are shown. Scale bar, 10 μm. ( B , C , Right panels) The remaining cell surface antibody–Env complexes over different time points are expressed as percentages of the surface fluorescence relative to the 0 min time point control. Error bars indicate means ± the SEM. Statistical significance was tested using an unpaired t test or a Mann–Whitney U test based on statistical normality (**, p < 0.01; ***, p < 0.001). mCD4; membrane-anchored CD4.
Article Snippet: To investigate whether the differences in antibody-mediated Env internalization is due to distinct populations of Env on the cell surface being targeted, we utilize ligands such as small CD4-mimetics (CD4mc) and soluble CD4 (sCD4) to ‘force’ open the otherwise ‘closed’ Env populations and evaluate the rates of nNAb-mediated internalization.
Techniques: Transfection, Staining, Plasmid Preparation, Binding Assay, Flow Cytometry, Confocal Microscopy, Fluorescence, Control, MANN-WHITNEY, Membrane