title: Sieve analysis in HIV-1 vaccine efficacy trials.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The genetic characterization of HIV-1 breakthrough infections in vaccine and placebo recipients offers new ways to assess vaccine efficacy trials. Statistical and sequence analysis methods provide opportunities to mine the mechanisms behind the effect of an HIV vaccine.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The release of results from two HIV-1 vaccine efficacy trials, Step/HVTN-502 (HIV Vaccine Trials Network-502) and RV144, led to numerous studies in the last 5 years, including efforts to sequence HIV-1 breakthrough infections and compare viral characteristics between the vaccine and placebo groups. Novel genetic and statistical analysis methods uncovered features that distinguished founder viruses isolated from vaccinees from those isolated from placebo recipients, and identified HIV-1 genetic targets of vaccine-induced immune responses.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Studies of HIV-1 breakthrough infections in vaccine efficacy trials can provide an independent confirmation to correlates of risk studies, as they take advantage of vaccine/placebo comparisons, whereas correlates of risk analyses are limited to vaccine recipients. Through the identification of viral determinants impacted by vaccine-mediated host immune responses, sieve analyses can shed light on potential mechanisms of vaccine protection.
authors.affiliation: Statistical Center for HIV/AIDS Research and Prevention, Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington, USA.
authors.forename: Paul T
authors.initials: PT
authors.lastname: Edlefsen
authors.forename: Peter B
authors.initials: PB
authors.lastname: Gilbert
authors.forename: Morgane
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rolland
mesh_terms: D016915:AIDS Vaccines / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000276:immunology*; D014644:Genetic Variation; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000276:immunology* / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000821:virology*; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006801:Humans; D057131:Immune Evasion; D015233:Models, Statistical; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D016915:AIDS Vaccines