Identification of Non-HIV Immunogens That Bind to Germline b12 Predecessors and Prime for Elicitation of Cross-clade Neutralizing HIV-1 Antibodies.

ABSTRACT: A fundamental challenge for developing an effective and safe HIV-1 vaccine is to identify vaccine immunogens that can initiate and maintain immune responses leading to elicitation of broadly neutralizing HIV-1 antibodies (bnAbs) through complex maturation pathways. We have previously found that HIV-1 envelope glycoproteins (Env) lack measurable binding to putative germline predecessors of known bnAbs and proposed to search for non-HIV immunogens that could initiate their somatic maturation. Using bnAb b12 as a model bnAb and yeast display technology, we isolated five (poly)peptides from plant leaves, insects, E. coli strains, and sea water microbes that bind to b12 putative germline and intermediate antibodies. Rabbit immunization with the (poly)peptides alone induced high titers of cross-

SUBMITTER: Yang Z 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4444298 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature