The HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein (Env) mediates viral entry into host cells and is the sole target for neutralizing antibodies. Env forms a tightly folded trimer, composed of a receptor binding subunit, gp120 that is non-covalently linked to the membrane anchored fusion protein, gp41. Triggered by cellular receptor binding, the trimeric envelope complex mediates fusion of viral and cellular membranes through the rearrangement of the fusion protein subunit. Our interest is to understand the structural transitions that gp41 undergoes from a native conformation to a fusion intermediate conformation and the final post fusion structure. Because gp41 contains highly conserved epitopes within its membrane proximal region (MPR), we aim to understand their conformation that is recognized by broadly neutralizing antibodies in order to exploit the structural knowledge for vaccine development.
Selected publications :
- SARS-CoV-2 S Glycoprotein Stabilization Strategies
Borys Pedenko, Guidenn Sulbaran, Delphine Guilligay, Gregory Effantin, Winfried Weissenhorn
Viruses, 2023, 15 (2), pp.558.
- Immunization with synthetic SARS-CoV-2 S glycoprotein virus-like particles protects macaques from infection
Guidenn Sulbaran, Pauline Maisonnasse, Axelle Amen, Gregory Effantin, Delphine Guilligay, Nathalie Dereuddre-Bosquet, Judith Burger, Meliawati Poniman, Marloes Grobben, Marlyse Buisson, Sebastian Dergan Dylon, Thibaut Naninck, Julien Lemaître, Wesley Gros, Anne-Sophie Gallouët, Romain Marlin, Camille Bouillier, Vanessa Contreras, Francis Relouzat, Daphna Fenel, Michel Thepaut, Isabelle Bally, Nicole Thielens, Franck Fieschi, Guy Schoehn, Sylvie van Der Werf, Marit van Gils, Rogier Sanders, Pascal Poignard, Roger Le Grand, Winfried Weissenhorn
Cell Reports Medicine, 2022, 3 (2), pp.100528.
- Structure of HIV-1 gp41 with its membrane anchors targeted by neutralizing antibodies
Christophe Caillat, Delphine Guilligay, Johana Torralba, Nikolas Friedrich, Jose Nieva, Alexandra Trkola, Christophe Chipot, Francois Dehez, Winfried Weissenhorn
eLife, 2021, 10, pp.e65005.
- Neutralizing Antibodies Targeting HIV-1 gp41
Christophe Caillat, Delphine Guilligay, Guidenn Sulbaran, Winfried Weissenhorn
Viruses, 2020, 12 (11), pp.1210.