title: Serum neutralizing activities from a Beijing homosexual male cohort infected with different subtypes of HIV-1 in China.
abstract: Protective antibodies play a critical role in an effective HIV vaccine; however, eliciting antibodies to block infection by viruses from diverse genetic subtypes remains a major challenge. As the world's most populous country, China has been under the threat of at least three major subtypes of circulating HIV-1 viruses. Understanding the cross reactivity and specificities of serum antibody responses that mediate broad neutralization of the virus in HIV-1 infected Chinese patients will provide valuable information for the design of vaccines to prevent HIV-1 transmission in China. Sera from a cohort of homosexual men, who have been managed by a major HIV clinical center in Beijing, China, were analyzed for cross-sectional neutralizing activities against pseudotyped viruses expressing Env antigens of the major subtype viruses (AE, BC and B subtypes) circulating in China. Neutralizing activities in infected patients' blood were most capable of neutralizing viruses in the homologous subtype; however, a subset of blood samples was able to achieve broad neutralizing activities across different subtypes. Such cross neutralizing activity took 1-2 years to develop and CD4 binding site antibodies were critical components in these blood samples. Our study confirmed the presence of broadly neutralizing sera in China's HIV-1 patient population. Understanding the specificity and breadth of these neutralizing activities can guide efforts for the development of HIV vaccines against major HIV-1 viruses in China.
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Province Key Laboratory in Infectious Diseases, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Mingshun
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Yanmei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Jiao
authors.forename: Shixia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Lu
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Zuhu
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Yuxin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Hao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D057134:Antibodies, Neutralizing / Q000097:blood*; D000918:Antibody Specificity; D000956:Antigens, Viral / Q000097:blood*; D018791:CD4 Lymphocyte Count; D002681:China; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003429:Cross Reactions; D015483:HIV Antibodies / Q000097:blood*; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology*; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D018451:Homosexuality, Male; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D058889:Molecular Typing; D009500:Neutralization Tests; D054299:env Gene Products, Human Immunodeficiency Virus / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D057134:Antibodies, Neutralizing; D000956:Antigens, Viral; D015483:HIV Antibodies; D054299:env Gene Products, Human Immunodeficiency Virus