Structural and mechanistic bases for a potent HIV-1 capsid inhibitor.
Bester, S.M., Wei, G., Zhao, H., Adu-Ampratwum, D., Iqbal, N., Courouble, V.V., Francis, A.C., Annamalai, A.S., Singh, P.K., Shkriabai, N., Van Blerkom, P., Morrison, J., Poeschla, E.M., Engelman, A.N., Melikyan, G.B., Griffin, P.R., Fuchs, J.R., Asturias, F.J., Kvaratskhelia, M.(2020) Science 370: 360-364
- PubMed: 33060363 
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abb4808
- Primary Citation of Related Structures:  
6VKV, 6VWS - PubMed Abstract: 
The potent HIV-1 capsid inhibitor GS-6207 is an investigational principal component of long-acting antiretroviral therapy. We found that GS-6207 inhibits HIV-1 by stabilizing and thereby preventing functional disassembly of the capsid shell in infected cells. X-ray crystallography, cryo-electron microscopy, and hydrogen-deuterium exchange experiments revealed that GS-6207 tightly binds two adjoining capsid subunits and promotes distal intra- and inter-hexamer interactions that stabilize the curved capsid lattice. In addition, GS-6207 interferes with capsid binding to the cellular HIV-1 cofactors Nup153 and CPSF6 that mediate viral nuclear import and direct integration into gene-rich regions of chromatin. These findings elucidate structural insights into the multimodal, potent antiviral activity of GS-6207 and provide a means for rationally developing second-generation therapies.
Organizational Affiliation: 
Division of Infectious Diseases, Anschutz Medical Campus, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO 80045, USA.