NIH R01 · 2024
An Env apex-focused HIV-1 vaccine strategy
PROJECT SUMMARY What is the shortest path from the human antibody repertoire to sera that protects from an HIV-1 challenge? We propose here that this pathway starts from B-cell receptors (BCRs) with long, tyrosine-sulfated heavy- chain CDR3s (HCDR3s) encoded by D3-family of diversity (D) chain segments. This path ends with broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs) targeting the V2-glycan or ‘apex’ epitope of the HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein (Env). That is, the most direct way to prevent many HIV-1 transmission events through conventional vaccination is to induce a defined subset of circulating HCDR3s to bind the Env apex. This hypothesis is supported by several observations: (1) Apex bnAbs do…
From the public funding record at NIH RePORTER. Describes the funded project, not the reviews below.