Category: HIV-specific humoral immunity
-
On Tuesday at the AIDS Vaccine 2011 conference in Bangkok, Barton Haynes described the initial results of a mammoth effort to uncover immune correlates of protection in the RV144 vaccine trial (the presentation is available online via the conference website). As reported in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2009, the trial demonstrated a very…
-
Over the past couple of years, several new antibodies capable of neutralizing a broad array of HIV isolates have been discovered. As mentioned in prior posts about these discoveries, one common feature of these antibodies is that the B cells that produce them have undergone an unusual degree of somatic hypermutation—a process in which the…
-
Inducing antibodies capable of neutralizing a broad array of HIV isolates is the holy grail for vaccine research. One of the key obstacles is the virus’s outer envelope, which is densely cloaked in sugary molecules that shield the parts that are vulnerable to antibody-mediated attack. When unmodified HIV envelopes are used to make vaccines, the…
-
Toward the end of last year, a group of Italian researchers led by Barbara Ensoli published some limited data from an ongoing trial of a therapeutic HIV vaccine, and issued a press release to draw attention to the paper. The resulting press coverage was generally favorable. Somewhat lost in the discussion of the results was the…
-
The November 1, 2010 supplement to the Journal of Infectious Diseases features a suite of articles about individuals who remain HIV negative despite repeated exposure to the virus. The articles represent summaries of oral presentations given at the International Symposium on Natural Immunity to HIV that was held in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, in November 2009.…
-
Two papers published in Science Express today are receiving extensive coverage in the mainstream media. The studies, conducted by researchers at the NIH’s Vaccine Research Center (VRC), reveal the discovery of three new broadly neutralizing antibodies, one of which has activity against 91% of the viruses in a panel containing 190 different HIV variants from every known…
-
Last week researchers from Duke University reported that several antibodies targeting phospholipids can potently inhibit HIV replication by an indirect mechanism. Phospholipids are components of cell membranes that under certain circumstances can be targeted by antibodies; in some cases this phenomenon is associated with autoimmune disease (such as lupus) but anti-phospholipid antibodies have also been…
-
One of the most efficient means by which HIV spreads between cells is by promoting cell to cell contacts. The virus is then transferred from infected to uninfected cell via what has been dubbed a “virological synapse.” Some prior studies have raised the concern that this process may be invulnerable to approaches designed to inhibit viral…
-
A paper just published online by Science Express reports the discovery of two new antibodies capable of neutralizing a broad array of diverse HIV strains. The antibodies interact with a novel conserved region of the virus envelope that is different from the sites targeted by previously described neutralizing antibodies. The research represents the first fruits…
-
Several years ago, Bruce Walker and colleagues from Partners AIDS Research in Boston launched the largest ever effort to research immunological control of HIV infection, the international HIV controllers study. The project is now proceeding under the aegis of the new Ragon Institute of Massachusetts General Hospital, created recently thanks to the generous support of the…