Current HIV Research - Volume 11, Issue 5, 2013

Antibody-mediated resistance to viral disease is often attributed solely to neutralizing antibodies (NAbs) despite a body of evidence -- more than 30 years in the making -- to show that other populations of antibodies (protective non-neutralizing antibodies, PnNAbs) can also contribute and are sometimes pivotal in host resistance to viruses. Recently, interest in varieties of PnNAbs has been restored and elevated by an HIV vacci Read More

Passive immunization studies in non-human primates have established unequivocally that virus neutralization can prevent infection, providing the impetus for current intense efforts to identify immunogens that elicit broadly neutralizing antibodies in humans. Although Fc-mediated effector function may also contribute to protection by neutralizing antibodies, its role in protection by non-neutralizing antibodies is controversial. Read More

Antibodies act as a nexus between innate and adaptive immunity: they provide a means to engage a spectrum of innate immune effector cells in order to clear viral particles and infected cells and prime antigen presentation. This functional landscape is remarkably complex, and depends on antibody isotype, subclass, and glycosylation; the expression levels and patterns of a suite of Fc receptors with both complementary and Read More

Antibody dependent cellular cytotoxicity [ADCC] has been suggested to play an important role in control of Human Immunodeficiency Virus-1 [HIV-1] viral load and protection from infection. ADCC antibody responses have been mapped to multiple linear and conformational epitopes within the HIV-1 envelope glycoproteins gp120 and gp41. Many epitopes targeted by antibodies that mediate ADCC overlap with those recognized Read More

The partial success of the RV144 trial re-energized the field of HIV vaccine research, which had stalled after vaccines based on neutralizing antibody and cytotoxic T cells had failed to induce protection. A large post-vaccine research effort has focused attention on the role of non-neutralizing antibodies in the protection afforded by the RV144 vaccine. These binding antibodies can initiate immune responses such as Read More

The modest success of the RV144 HIV vaccine trial in Thailand and the ensuing suggestion that a Fc-receptormediated antibody activity might have played a role in the protection observed have intensified investigations on Fcrelated immune responses. HIV neutralizing antibodies have been and continue to be the focal point of research into humoral immune protection. However, recent knowledge that their protective efficacy ca Read More

Antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE) of infection has been described for a number of viruses including HIV-1. However, the biological role of ADE in HIV disease pathogenesis or in increasing the risk of infection upon exposure is uncertain. In this review, we outline the mechanisms of ADE, as ascertained in vitro. We also discuss several recent human and non-human primate studies that raise concern about ADE resulting fr Read More

A vaccine that can prevent the transmission of HIV-1 at the site of exposure to the host is one of the best hopes to control the HIV-1 pandemic. The trimeric envelope spike consisting of heterodimers, gp120 and gp41, is essential for virus entry and thus has been a key target for HIV-1 vaccine development. However, it has been extremely difficult to identify the types of antibodies required to block the transmission of various HI Read More