Modern HIV tests -- tests of the 4th generation, as Wicht calls them -- have one further feature: They can also identify the HIV virus by detecting a protein that is part of the
viral envelope, the p24 antigen.
Cell entry of Herpes simplex virus-1 (HSV-1) is enabled by glycoproteins residing on the
viral envelope membrane.
When antibodies try to mimic the receptor, they touch a lot of other parts of the
viral envelope that HIV can change with ease," said TSRI Research Associate Matthew Gardner, the first author of the study with Lisa M.
Based on the genome and the
viral envelope E1 sequences, CHIKV is classified into 3 genetic lineages: Asian, West African, and East/Central/South African (ECSA) genotypes (2).
The
viral envelope proteins, including HA, are cleaved off and used as the vaccine, but vary from year to year, depending on what flu strains are prevalent.
The
viral envelope protein, glycoprotein 120 (gpl20), binds to the CD4+ molecule on dendritic cells in cervicovaginal epithelium as well as tonsillar and adenoidal tissue, which may serve as initial target cells in infection transmitted via genital-oral sex.
Sean Du of Maxygen, "Directed Molecular Evolution Created Genetic and Antigenic Diversity and Improved Overall Immunogenicity of HIV-1 gp12- Immunogen," which detailed Maxygen's program to recombine and manipulate
viral envelope DNA in order to produce vaccines which can neutralize a broad number of HIV variants.
The
viral envelope is a trimer of glycoprotein (gp): gpl20-gp41.
Some work by disrupting the
viral envelope, blocking the virus's entry into cells or making the vagina itself hostile to the virus, while others disrupt the virus's life cycle.
In a study published in the August 2005 Journal of Clinical Investigation, the researchers focused on a snippet of a protein that makes up HIV's
viral envelope.
More recent microbicide approaches include blocking viral entry using polyanionic compounds that interact with the positively charged areas of the
viral envelope proteins, blocking HIV uptake receptors in cells to prevent viral attachment to mucosal surfaces, and the use of nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors in products to inhibit viral replication.
The virus would attach itself to cell receptors by means of the glycoprotein spikes on the
viral envelope.
