Molecular dynamics studies of the transmembrane domain of gp41 from HIV-1

Helix–helix interactions in the putative three-helix bundle formation of the gp41 transmembrane (TM) domain may contribute to the process of virus–cell membrane fusion in HIV-1 infection. In this study, molecular dynamics is used to analyze and compare the conformations of monomeric and trimeric forms of the TM domain in various solvent systems over the course of 4 to 23-ns simulations. The trimeric bundles of the TM domain were stable as helices and remained associated in a hydrated POPE lipid bilayer for the duration of the 23-ns simulation. Several stable inter-chain hydrogen bonds, mostly among the three deprotonated arginine residues located at the center of each of the three TM domains, formed in a right-handed bundle embedded in the lipid bilayer. No such bonds were observed when the bundle was left-handed or when the central arginine residue in each of the three TM helices was replaced with isoleucine (R_I mutant), suggesting that the central arginine residues may play an essential role in maintaining the integrity of the three-helix bundle. These observations suggest that formation of the three-helix bundle of the TM domain may play a role in the trimerization of gp41, thought to occur during the virus–cell membrane fusion process.