HIV-1 Env immunogens that target unmutated common ancestor antibodies (UCAs) of broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs) reactive with multiple HIV-1 envelope epitopes

NIH RePORTER · NIH · UM1 · $809,741 · view on reporter.nih.gov ↗

Abstract

HIV-1 Env immunogens that target unmutated common ancestor antibodies (UCAs) of broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs) reactive with multiple HIV-1 envelope epitopes Current efforts at HIV vaccine development are targeted at devising sequential vaccination regimens that are intended to mimic the antigenic diversity of the HIV-1 Envelope (Env) as it co-evolves in response to the humoral immune system.1, 2 Sequential vaccination strategies are predicated on the existence of individual envelope immunogens that are capable of first engaging broadly neutralizing antibody (bnAb) precursors called unmutated common ancestors (UCAs). UCA- targeting Envs are designed to stimulate a particular class of bnAb precursor to proliferate and develop into a bnAb.1 BnAb precursors can be difficult to stimulate via vaccination due to their low frequency within the human B cell repertoire.1 Recently, progress has been made demonstrating proof of concept of UCA or germline-targeting of individual bnAb B cell lineages.1 Specifically, germline targeting Envs have been developed for single bnAb B cell lineages targeting either the HIV Env CD4 binding site, the V3-glycan bnAb Env site, the V2 apex bnAb Env site, the fusion peptide or the membrane proximal external region (MPER) Env proximal site (reviewed in 1). However, an effective HIV vaccine will need to target most of these sites simultaneously to escape of transmitted/founder (TF) viruses that initiate infection. Thus, the overall goal of this supplement is to design a single priming immunogen that can effectively induce bnAb precursors targeting the V3-glycan, the CD4bs, the V2 apex, and the proximal and distal MPER. Here, we propose to develop a single universal priming immunogen that can simultaneously initiate multiple B cell clonal lineages against multiple bnAb-antigenic sites, thereby both simplifying HIV vaccine design, and improving the probability of inducing rare bnAb precursors bnAb B cell lineages for which precursors of individual B cell lineages are extremely rare.1

Key facts

NIH application ID
11078956
Project number
3UM1AI144371-06S2
Recipient
DUKE UNIVERSITY
Principal Investigator
Barton F. Haynes
Activity code
UM1
Funding institute
NIH
Fiscal year
2024
Award amount
$809,741
Award type
3
Project period
2019-07-15 → 2026-06-30