Newly engineered peptide shows potential as long-acting anti-HIV drug

Enfuvirtide is the first anti-HIV peptide drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. However, its clinical application is limited because of its short half-life and the emergence of enfuvirtide-resistant HIV strains. In the new study, researchers developed a novel strategy to prolong the half-life of a short anti-HIV peptide called CP24 by fusing it to the human Immunoglobulin G (IgG) Fc-binding peptide (IBP).

IBP-CP24 inhibited a broad spectrum of HIV-1 strains, including those resistant to enfuvirtide. Most importantly, its half-life in the blood of rhesus monkeys was 46.1 h, approximately 26- and 14-fold longer than that of CP24 and enfuvirtide, respectively. IBP-CP24 intravenously administered in rhesus monkeys did not induce significant IBP-CP24-specific antibody response and showed no obvious toxicity. Mice pretreated with IBP-CP24 were protected from HIV-1 infection, and co-administration of IBP-CP24 and normal human IgG in mice with chronic HIV-1 infection resulted in a significant decrease in viruses in the bloodstream. Interestingly, the combined use of IBP-CP24 and a broad HIV neutralizing antibody showed a synergistic anti-HIV-1 effect, suggesting that this strategy may reduce the dose of the antibody and peptide and the cost of treatment.