Limited neutralizing antibody specificities drive neutralization escape in early HIV-1 subtype C infection.

ABSTRACT: We previously showed that HIV-1 subtype C viruses elicit potent but highly type-specific neutralizing antibodies (nAb) within the first year of infection. In order to determine the specificity and evolution of these autologous nAbs, we examined neutralization escape in four individuals whose responses against the earliest envelope differed in magnitude and potency. Neutralization escape occurred in all participants, with later viruses showing decreased sensitivity to contemporaneous sera, although they retained sensitivity to new nAb responses. Early nAb responses were very restricted, occurring sequentially and targeting only two regions of the envelope. In V1V2, limited amino acid changes often involving indels or glycans, mediated partial or complete escape, with nAbs targeting the V1V2

SUBMITTER: Moore PL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2742164 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature