Consequences of Disulfide Exchange in CD4 for Function

CD4是免疫细胞表面的一种特殊类型的受体，参与我们对感染的反应。CD4也是导致艾滋病的HIV病毒的主要受体。我们已经发现，一种特殊类型的化学发生在CD4。这种化学反应被称为氧化还原化学反应，改变了CD4的形状。形状的变化似乎是由免疫细胞控制的。我们认为，CD4中的氧化还原化学对于控制免疫细胞对感染的反应以及HIV病毒如何感染免疫细胞非常重要。此外，我们还设计了一种小的合成化合物，可以阻断CD4中的氧化还原化学，并在试管中预防HIV感染。我们建议研究CD4中的氧化还原化学如何控制免疫细胞的功能和HIV感染。

CD4 is a particular type of receptor on the surface of immune cells that participates in our response to infection. CD4 is also the primary receptor for the HIV virus which causes AIDS. We have discovered that a particular type of chemistry is occurring in CD4. This chemistry, which is known as redox chemistry, changes the shape of CD4. The shape change appears to be controlled by the immune cell. We have suggested that the redox chemistry in CD4 is important for controlling how immune cells respond to infection and how the HIV virus infects immune cells. Moreover, we have designed a small synthetic compound that blocks the redox chemistry in CD4 and prevents HIV infection in the test tube. We propose to investigate how the redox chemistry in CD4 controls the function of immune cells and infection by HIV.