TAG HIV Basic Science, Vaccines, and Cure Project Blog
By Richard Jefferys, Project Director at Treatment Action Group (TAG).
recent posts
- HIV Cure Research at AIDS 2026
- In The News: CAR-T Cells for HIV
- TAG’s HIV Cure-Related Clinical Research Listing: Background on the March 2026 Update
- TAG’s HIV Cure-Related Clinical Research Listing: Background on the February 2026 Update
- TAG’s HIV Cure-Related Clinical Research Listing: Background on the December 2025 and January 2026 Updates
Category: HIV-specific humoral immunity
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In recent years, new technologies have facilitated the discovery of an expanding number of antibodies capable of neutralizing a broad array of primary HIV isolates from different clades. As covered previously on the blog, these broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs) have been fished from the plasma of individuals with chronic HIV infection and, in most cases, do…
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Coverage of some subjectively selected presentations from the recent CROI meeting in Atlanta, in addition to the prior post on the case report of a potentially functionally cured infant. Gene Modification of Virus-Specific CD4 T Cells Patrick Younan from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center delivered an interesting talk about transplantation of gene-modified stem cells in…
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In November 2011, the laboratory of Nobel laureate David Baltimore published encouraging results from humanized mouse studies of an approach to HIV prevention they have named vectored immunoprophylaxis (assigned the slightly uncomfortable acronym VIP). The strategy involves the use of adeno-associated virus (AAV) as a vector to deliver genes that make broadly neutralizing antibodies against HIV…
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Following up on the recent post on T follicular helper cells (TFH), a study published on December 17 in the Journal of Experimental Medicine reports that TFH represent a major site of HIV replication and persistence. The finding is not necessariy surprising, because lymph node studies conducted in the late 1980s and early 1990s showed…
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T follicular helper cells (TFH) are a subset of CD4 T cells that reside almost exclusively in the lymph nodes, where they specialize in helping B cells generate antibodies. In a testament to the complexity and difficulty of studying the immune system, TFH were only identified as a discrete subset of CD4 T cells at…
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The AIDS Vaccine 2012 conference took place in Boston September 9–12, organized by the Global HIV/AIDS Vaccine Enterprise, the Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard, and the Havard Center for AIDS Research. Webcasts of all the conference sessions are now available online, and the abstracts have been posted as a a supplement to the…
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On March 29th, PLoS Pathogens published a paper reporting that women superinfected with two HIV variants are more likely to generate antibody responses capable of neutralizing a broad array of viral strains (known as broadly neutralizing antibodies or bNAbs). The work was conducted by the laboratory of Julie Overbaugh at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research…
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At the recent CROI in Seattle, antibody expert Dennis Burton compared HIV’s envelope structure to an assemblage of Tootsie Pops. In this analogy, the parts of HIV’s envelope that are susceptible to neutralizing antibodies are represented by the chocolate contained inside the Tootsie Pop, and the carbohydrate molecules that act as decoys (by inducing ineffective non-neutralizing…
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A bevy of recently published papers address the use of adenoviruses as vaccine vectors, illuminating both the promise of the approach and some previously unappreciated pitfalls. For the uninitiated, adenoviruses are a family of airborne viruses that are common in nature, causing severe colds. Family members are scientifically categorized into different serotypes based on the…
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This past Wednesday, September 28, the Spanish Superior Scientific Research Council (CSIC, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas) issued a press release about the results of a phase I HIV vaccine trial involving 30 uninfected volunteers. The release refers to two recently published papers, one made available online by the journal Vaccine on September 9, the…