Oregon Health & Science University Virologists Turn HIV's Own Spacer Peptide 2 Against It, Yielding Defective Virus Particles
As HIV-1 matures, its freed spacer peptide 2 (SP2) binds the matrix protein and reorganizes it into a mature lattice. Eric Barklis and Ayna Alfadhli expressed a GFP-SP2 fusion in virus-producing cells and got misshapen particles carrying significantly less envelope protein. The cell-culture results suggest SP2-based molecules could be developed into antivirals.