How 3D Models of HIV are Constructed
Molecular HIV Art
Luke Jerram is an artist in Europe who makes glass sculptures of microbes (Caridad, 2011). He made an HIV particle in 2009, and received this letter from an anonymous fan:
"Dear Luke,
I just saw a photo of your glass sculpture of HIV.
I can't stop looking at it. Knowing that millions of those guys are in me, and will be a part of me for the rest of my life. Your sculpture, even as a photo, has made HIV much more real for me than any photo or illustration I've ever seen. It's a very odd feeling seeing my enemy, and the eventual likely cause of my death, and finding it so beautiful. Thank you. (Monoyios , 2013)"
X-Ray Technology
X-rays were discovered by Conrad Roentgen in 1895 (Calarco, 2015). The advent of X-ray technology “gave crystallographers a powerful tool that could ‘see inside’ of crystals and allow for detailed determination of crystal structures” (Nelson, 2014). HIV researchers commonly use x-ray crystallography to analyze the structure of a protein. Researchers utilize the hanging drop technique that involves special equipment under the sample and cautiously vary the concentration of protein solution. This method allows scientists to induce the growth of tiny crystals hanging on the underside of a slide. The x-rays pass through the crystals, send signals to a detector, and computers reconstruct the three dimensional structure of the protein (123helpme.com). Scientists have recently determined how the virus passes on and replicates its genetic code through the use of small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) technique, which is a solution-based method that does not require protein crystallization and has minimal size limitations (Kunz, 2014).
NMR Spectroscopy
Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) was first identified in 1945 by Felix Bloch and Edward Purcell (The University of Colorado). NMR spectroscopy is a “technique used to determine a compound’s unique structure by identifying the “carbon-hydrogen framework of an organic compound. Using this method and other instrumental methods including infrared and mass spectrometry, scientists are able to determine the entire structure of a molecule” (Hardinger). In some recent studies, researchers have been able to develop new methods of inhibiting HIV. Once the structure of one part of the virus is deciphered, the researchers reveal a possible way of structurally inhibiting the development of the virus (Soutter, 2015).
SHAPE Methodology
Researchers are also using an innovative technique to obtain a birds eye view of the HIV-1 genome. SHAPE (selective 2'-hydroxyl acylation analyzed by primer extension), facilitates a view of the complete HIV-1 genome structure. The images produced are of lower resolution than those obtained by NMR spectroscopy and X-ray crystallography, but they span a much larger area of the genome. “Nucleotides are represented as coloured dots, with the colours depicting the amount of SHAPE reactivity, which reflects nucleotide flexibility and base pairing” (Al-Hashimi, 2009). This approach provides researchers architectural and functional principles of the HIV-1 virus at the atomic level (Watts, et al., 2009).
