Title: gp120
Long Title: IUPAC Gold Book - gp120
DOI: 10.1351/goldbook.13164
Status: current

Definition
Viral glycoprotein, non-covalently associated with gp41 in the viral envelope of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

Note
The gp120 portion of the glycoprotein complex binds with high affinity to the cell-surface molecule CD4. Before fusion and entry of the virus, gp120 must bind to a coreceptor in the membrane of the host cell, for instance chemokine receptors (mainly CCR5).

Related Terms
- CD4: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/12973
- coreceptor: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/13049
- human immunodeficiency virus (HIV): https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/13228

Source
- PAC, 2012, 84, 1113. 'IUPAC glossary of terms used in immunotoxicology (IUPAC Recommendations 2012)' on page 1168 (https://doi.org/10.1351/PAC-REC-11-06-03)

Other Outputs
- html: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/13164/html
- json: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/13164/json
- xml: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/13164/xml

Citation: Citation: 'gp120' in IUPAC Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 5th ed. International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry; 2025. Online version 5.0.0, 2025. 10.1351/goldbook.13164
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Disclaimer: The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) is continuously reviewing and, where needed, updating terms in the Compendium of Chemical Terminology (the IUPAC Gold Book). Users of these terms are encouraged to include the version of a term with its use and to check regularly for updates to term definitions that you are using.
Accessed: 2026-05-13T23:03:31+00:00