It was recently shown that capture of
HIV-1 by DC-SIGN-expressing cells and the subsequent transmission of
HIV to
CD4+
T-lymphocytes can be prevented by carbohydrate-binding agents (CBAs), whereas
polyanions were unable to block
virus capture by
DC-SIGN. In this study, we could show that a short pre-exposure of
HIV-1 to both mannose- and
N-acetylglucosamine (
GlcNAc)-specific CBAs or
polyanions dose-dependently prevented
virus capture by L-SIGN-expressing 293T-REx/L-SIGN cells and subsequent
syncytia formation in co-cultures of the drug-exposed HIV-1-captured 293T-REx/L-SIGN cells and uninfected C8166
CD4+
T-lymphocytes. Additionally, the
inhibitory potential of the compounds against L-SIGN-mediated
HIV-1 capture and transmission was more pronounced than observed for
DC-SIGN expressing293T-REx/
DC-SIGN cells. The excess value of CBAs and
polyanions to prevent
HIV-1 capture and transmission by
DC-SIGN and L-SIGN-expressing cells to
susceptible T-lymphocytes could be of interest for the development of
new drug leads targeting
HIV entry/fusion.
