title: Cutting edge: An antibody recognizing ancestral endogenous virus glycoproteins mediates antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity on HIV-1-infected cells.
abstract: The failure of antiviral vaccines is often associated with rapid viral escape from specific immune responses. In the past, conserved epitope or algorithmic epitope selections, such as mosaic vaccines, have been designed to diversify immunity and to circumvent potential viral escape. An alternative approach is to identify conserved stable non-HIV-1 self-epitopes present exclusively in HIV-1-infected cells. We showed previously that human endogenous retroviral (HERV) mRNA transcripts and protein are found in cells of HIV-1-infected patients and that HERV-K (HML-2)-specific T cells can eliminate HIV-1-infected cells in vitro. In this article, we demonstrate that a human anti-HERV-K (HML-2) transmembrane protein Ab binds specifically to HIV-1-infected cells and eliminates them through an Ab-dependent cellular cytotoxicity mechanism in vitro. Thus, Abs directed against epitopes other than HIV-1 proteins may have a role in eliminating HIV-1-infected cells and could be targeted in novel vaccine approaches or immunotherapeutic modalities.
authors.affiliation: Division of Experimental Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94110; Equipe Immunité et Cancer, Institut de Recherche en Cancérologie de Montpellier, 34298 Montpellier cedex 5, France; dnixon@gwu.edu henri-alexandre.michaud@inserm.fr.
authors.forename: Henri-Alexandre
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Michaud
authors.affiliation: Division of Experimental Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94110;
authors.forename: Devi
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: SenGupta
authors.affiliation: Division of Experimental Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94110; Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Tropical Medicine, The George Washington University, Washington, DC 20037;
authors.forename: Miguel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: de Mulder
authors.affiliation: HIV/AIDS Program, Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94110;
authors.forename: Steven G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Deeks
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143;
authors.forename: Jeffrey N
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.affiliation: Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY 14642;
authors.forename: James J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Kobie
authors.affiliation: Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR 97006; and Oregon National Primate Research Center, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR 97006.
authors.forename: Jonah B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Sacha
authors.affiliation: Division of Experimental Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94110; Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Tropical Medicine, The George Washington University, Washington, DC 20037; dnixon@gwu.edu henri-alexandre.michaud@inserm.fr.
authors.forename: Douglas F
authors.initials: DF
authors.lastname: Nixon
mesh_terms: D000906:Antibodies / Q000276:immunology; D000920:Antibody-Dependent Cell Cytotoxicity / Q000276:immunology*; D020077:Endogenous Retroviruses / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000276:immunology*; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D057131:Immune Evasion; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics; D054301:gag Gene Products, Human Immunodeficiency Virus / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000906:Antibodies; D012367:RNA, Viral; D054301:gag Gene Products, Human Immunodeficiency Virus