MASS SPECTROMETRY OF ANTIGENIC LIPOPEPTIDES: HIV

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This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. A synthetic version of a lipopeptide that is one of the first compounds to appear in HIV-infected cells was obtained from a commercial company and employed to generate a T cell line, using cells from an HIV patient donor. On further analysis it was found that the synthetically produced version of the targeted lipopeptide was not pure, but in fact a mixture, and further, the targeted lipopeptide was not antigenic, but instead two novel components were found to be antigenic. Preliminary mass spectrometric investigations indicated that the unknown antigenic components are very similar in structure to each other and have a partial structure similar to the intended synthetic structure. Mass spectrometric studies at the BUSM MS Resource laboratory have included the use of MALDI and ESI Q-o-TOF and MALDI and ESI-FTMS instrumentation, as well as the use of enzymatic digestion of the known and unknown compounds. On-going data analysis is aimed at determining the structural difference between the two unknown antigenic compounds and elucidating their complete structures. Compounds that incorporate partial structures are being synthesized and tested for activity.