Induction of cross-reactive HIV-1 specific antibody responses by engineered V1V2 immunogens with reduced conformational plasticity.

ABSTRACT: Antibodies against the HIV-1 V1V2 loops were the only correlate of reduced infection risk in the RV144 vaccine trial, highlighting the V1V2 loops as promising targets for vaccine design. The V1V2 loops are structurally plastic, exhibiting either an α-helix-coil or β-strand conformation. V1V2-specific antibodies may thus recognize distinct conformations, and an antibody's conformational specificity can be an important determinant of breadth and function. Restricting V1V2 conformational plasticity in an immunogen may thus provide control over the conformational specificity and quality of a vaccine-elicited antibody response. Previously, we identified a V1V2 sequence variant (K155M) that results in enhanced recognition by cross-reactive antibodies recognizing the β-strand conformation. Here,

SUBMITTER: Lai JI 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7132531 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature