Word: shaping
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When gp120 binds to CD4 receptors, which are found on the surface of HIV’s target cells, it initiates a cascade of events that alters the shape of the complex, allowing HIV to evade the antibodies of the immune system...
Although the structure of the bound form was discovered seven years ago, the unbound form—that is, gp120 before it attaches to a target cell—remained too unstable to yield crystals that would provide a clear image of its shape...
This discovery provides insight into another route of HIV inhibition. If the shape transformation is blocked, HIV cannot fuse with the target cell membrane. This fusion is the mechanism that allows entry into the cell...
Another observation relevant to the newly revealed structure is that “we see a potential binding site for a small molecule,” Harrison said. There is a “deep pocket on the surface, and that pocket needs to change its shape for CD4 to bind...
...small molecule could be induced to bind to that pocket, it would inhibit the shape transformation the virus would need to undergo in order to infect target cells...