Focusing the immune response on the V3 loop, a neutralizing epitope of the HIV-1 gp120 envelope
- New York Veterans Affairs Medical Center, New York, NY 10010 (United States)
- Public Health Research Institute Center, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Newark, NJ 07103 (United States)
- University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA 01605 (United States)
Rabbits were immunized with a novel regimen designed to focus the immune response on a single neutralizing epitope of HIV-1 gp120 and thereby preferentially induce neutralizing antibodies (Abs). Animals were primed with gp120 DNA from a clade A Env bearing the GPGR V3 motif and/or a clade C Env bearing the GPGQ V3 motif, and boosted with one or more fusion proteins containing V3 sequences from clades A, B and/or C. Immune sera neutralized three of four Tier 1 primary isolates, including strains heterologous to the immunizing strains, and potent cross-clade-neutralizing activity was demonstrated against V3 chimeric pseudoviruses carrying in a Tier 1 Env, the consensus V3 sequences from clades A1, AG, B, AE, or F. The broadest and most potent neutralizing responses were elicited with the clade C gp120 DNA and a combination of V3-fusion proteins from clades A, B and C. Neutralizing activity was primarily due to V3-specific Abs. The results demonstrate that the immune response can be focused on a neutralizing epitope and show that the anti-V3 Abs induced recognize a diverse set of V3 loops.
- OSTI ID:
- 21078027
- Journal Information:
- Virology, Vol. 372, Issue 2; Other Information: DOI: 10.1016/j.virol.2007.09.024; PII: S0042-6822(07)00626-5; Copyright (c) 2007 Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam, The Netherlands, All rights reserved; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0042-6822
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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