Peptides mimicking selected disulfide loops in HIV-1 gp120, other than V3, do not elicit virus-neutralizing antibodies.

The positions of all 9 intrachain disulfide bonds within the envelope glycoprotein gp120 of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1) have been established recently. Peptides expected to mimic some of the disulfide-bonded domains [(120-133)-(203-221); (133-138)-(164-203); (224-254); (391-425) and (385-392)-(425-452)] were synthesized. All peptides, except (120-133)-(203-221), elicited in immunized rabbits relatively high levels of antibodies reacting with gp120 in enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and/or Western immunoblot assays. However, these antibodies failed to neutralize the infectivity of HIV-1. Combined with earlier reports concerning other gp120 loop peptides, these results confirm the uniqueness of the V3 (303-338) loop in encompassing a principal determinant(s) involved in virus neutralization.