title: HIV-Specific Antibody Responses in HIV-Infected Patients: From a Monoclonal to a Polyclonal View.
abstract: HIV infections represent a major global health threat, affecting more than 35 million individuals worldwide. High infection rates and problems associated with lifelong antiretroviral treatment emphasize the need for the development of prophylactic and therapeutic immune intervention strategies. It is conceivable that insights for the design of new immunogens capable of eliciting protective immune responses may come from the analysis of HIV-specific antibody responses in infected patients. Using sophisticated technologies, several monoclonal neutralizing antibodies were isolated from HIV-infected individuals. However, the majority of polyclonal antibody responses found in infected patients are nonneutralizing. Comprehensive analyses of the molecular targets of HIV-specific antibody responses identified that during natural infection antibodies are mainly misdirected towards gp120 epitopes outside of the CD4-binding site and against regions and proteins that are not exposed on the surface of the virus. We therefore argue that vaccines aiming to induce protective responses should include engineered immunogens, which are capable of focusing the immune response towards protective epitopes.
authors.affiliation: Division of Immunopathology, Department of Pathophysiology and Allergy Research, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gallerano
authors.forename: Clarissa R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Cabauatan
authors.forename: Elopy N
authors.initials: EN
authors.lastname: Sibanda
authors.forename: Rudolf
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Valenta
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000096:biosynthesis; D057134:Antibodies, Neutralizing / Q000096:biosynthesis; D000918:Antibody Specificity; D000939:Epitopes / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D015483:HIV Antibodies / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification; D015488:HIV Antigens / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D015699:HIV Envelope Protein gp120 / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D015700:HIV Envelope Protein gp41 / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000276:immunology* / Q000821:virology; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D054299:env Gene Products, Human Immunodeficiency Virus / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D057134:Antibodies, Neutralizing; D000939:Epitopes; D015483:HIV Antibodies; D015488:HIV Antigens; D015699:HIV Envelope Protein gp120; D015700:HIV Envelope Protein gp41; D054299:env Gene Products, Human Immunodeficiency Virus