scholarly journals Antigenicity-defined conformations of an extremely neutralization-resistant HIV-1 envelope spike

2017 ◽  
Vol 114 (17) ◽  
pp. 4477-4482 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yongfei Cai ◽  
Selen Karaca-Griffin ◽  
Jia Chen ◽  
Sai Tian ◽  
Nicholas Fredette ◽  
...  

The extraordinary genetic diversity of the HIV-1 envelope spike [Env; trimeric (gp160)3, cleaved to (gp120/gp41)3] poses challenges for vaccine development. Envs of different clinical isolates exhibit different sensitivities to antibody-mediated neutralization. Envs of difficult-to-neutralize viruses are thought to be more stable and conformationally homogeneous trimers than those of easy-to-neutralize viruses, thereby providing more effective concealment of conserved, functionally critical sites. In this study we have characterized the antigenic properties of an Env derived from one of the most neutralization-resistant HIV-1 isolates, CH120.6. Sequence variation at neutralizing epitopes does not fully account for its exceptional resistance to antibodies. The full-length, membrane-bound CH120.6 Env is indeed stable and conformationally homogeneous. Its antigenicity correlates closely with its neutralization sensitivity, and major changes in antigenicity upon CD4 engagement appear to be restricted to the coreceptor site. The CH120.6 gp140 trimer, the soluble and uncleaved ectodomain of (gp160)3, retains many antigenic properties of the intact Env, consistent with a conformation close to that of Env spikes on a virion, whereas its monomeric gp120 exposes many nonneutralizing or strain-specific epitopes. Thus, trimer organization and stability are important determinants not only for occluding many epitopes but also for conferring resistance to neutralization by all but a small set of antibodies. Env preparations derived from neutralization-resistant viruses may induce irrelevant antibody responses less frequently than do other Envs and may be excellent templates for developing soluble immunogens.

2017 ◽  
Vol 91 (10) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuhang Liu ◽  
Junhua Pan ◽  
Yongfei Cai ◽  
Nikolaus Grigorieff ◽  
Stephen C. Harrison ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The HIV-1 envelope spike [Env; trimeric (gp160)3 cleaved to (gp120/gp41)3] induces membrane fusion, leading to viral entry. It is also the viral component targeted by neutralizing antibodies. Vaccine development requires production, in quantities suitable for clinical studies, of a recombinant form that resembles functional Env. HIV-1 gp140 trimers—the uncleaved ectodomains of (gp160)3—from a few selected viral isolates adopt a compact conformation with many antigenic properties of native Env spikes. One is currently being evaluated in a clinical trial. We report here low-resolution (20 Å) electron cryomicroscopy (cryoEM) structures of this gp140 trimer, which adopts two principal conformations, one closed and the other slightly open. The former is indistinguishable at this resolution from those adopted by a stabilized, cleaved trimer (SOSIP) or by a membrane-bound Env trimer with a truncated cytoplasmic tail (EnvΔCT). The latter conformation is closer to a partially open Env trimer than to the fully open conformation induced by CD4. These results show that a stable, uncleaved HIV-1 gp140 trimer has a compact structure close to that of native Env. IMPORTANCE Development of any HIV vaccine with a protein component (for either priming or boosting) requires production of a recombinant form to mimic the trimeric, functional HIV-1 envelope spike in quantities suitable for clinical studies. Our understanding of the envelope structure has depended in part on a cleaved, soluble trimer, known as SOSIP.664, stabilized by several modifications, including an engineered disulfide. This construct, which is difficult to produce in large quantities, has yet to induce better antibody responses than those to other envelope-based immunogens, even in animal models. The uncleaved ectodomain of the envelope protein, called gp140, has also been made as a soluble form to mimic the native Env present on the virion surface. Most HIV-1 gp140 preparations are not stable, however, and have an inhomogeneous conformation. The results presented here show that gp140 preparations from suitable isolates can adopt a compact, native-like structure, supporting its use as a vaccine candidate.


Vaccines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 239
Author(s):  
Christopher A. Gonelli ◽  
Hannah A. D. King ◽  
Charlene Mackenzie ◽  
Secondo Sonza ◽  
Rob J. Center ◽  
...  

An optimal prophylactic vaccine to prevent human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1) transmission should elicit protective antibody responses against the HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein (Env). Replication-incompetent HIV-1 virus-like particles (VLPs) offer the opportunity to present virion-associated Env with a native-like structure during vaccination that closely resembles that encountered on infectious virus. Here, we optimized the incorporation of Env into previously designed mature-form VLPs (mVLPs) and assessed their immunogenicity in mice. The incorporation of Env into mVLPs was increased by replacing the Env transmembrane and cytoplasmic tail domains with those of influenza haemagglutinin (HA-TMCT). Furthermore, Env was stabilized on the VLP surface by introducing an interchain disulfide and proline substitution (SOSIP) mutations typically employed to stabilize soluble Env trimers. The resulting mVLPs efficiently presented neutralizing antibody epitopes while minimizing exposure of non-neutralizing antibody sites. Vaccination of mice with mVLPs elicited a broader range of Env-specific antibody isotypes than Env presented on immature VLPs or extracellular vesicles. The mVLPs bearing HA-TMCT-modified Env consistently induced anti-Env antibody responses that mediated modest neutralization activity. These mVLPs are potentially useful immunogens for eliciting neutralizing antibody responses that target native Env epitopes on infectious HIV-1 virions.


2016 ◽  
Vol 197 (10) ◽  
pp. 3982-3998 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yajing Chen ◽  
Richard Wilson ◽  
Sijy O’Dell ◽  
Javier Guenaga ◽  
Yu Feng ◽  
...  

Vaccine ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 352-360 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catarina E. Hioe ◽  
Maria Luisa Visciano ◽  
Rajnish Kumar ◽  
Jianping Liu ◽  
Ethan A. Mack ◽  
...  

2017 ◽  
Vol 91 (19) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaoying Shen ◽  
Willy M. Bogers ◽  
Nicole L. Yates ◽  
Guido Ferrari ◽  
Antu K. Dey ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Evaluation of the epitope specificities, locations (systemic or mucosal), and effector functions of antibodies elicited by novel HIV-1 immunogens engineered to improve exposure of specific epitopes is critical for HIV-1 vaccine development. Utilizing an array of humoral assays, we evaluated the magnitudes, epitope specificities, avidities, and functions of systemic and mucosal immune responses elicited by a vaccine regimen containing Env cross-linked to a CD4-mimetic miniprotein (gp140-M64U1) in rhesus macaques. Cross-linking of gp140 Env to M64U1 resulted in earlier increases of both the magnitude and avidity of the IgG binding response than those with Env protein alone. Notably, IgG binding responses at an early time point correlated with antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) function at the peak immunity time point, which was higher for the cross-linked Env group than for the Env group. In addition, the cross-linked Env group developed higher IgG responses against a linear epitope in the gp120 C1 region of the HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein. These data demonstrate that structural modification of the HIV-1 envelope immunogen by cross-linking of gp140 with the CD4-mimetic M64U1 elicited an earlier increase of binding antibody responses and altered the specificity of the IgG responses, correlating with the rise of subsequent antibody-mediated antiviral functions. IMPORTANCE The development of an efficacious HIV-1 vaccine remains a global priority to prevent new cases of HIV-1 infection. Of the six HIV-1 efficacy trials to date, only one has demonstrated partial efficacy, and immune correlate analysis of that trial revealed a role for binding antibodies and antibody Fc-mediated effector functions. New HIV-1 envelope immunogens are being engineered to selectively expose the most vulnerable and conserved sites on the HIV-1 envelope, with the goal of eliciting antiviral antibodies. Evaluation of the humoral responses elicited by these novel immunogen designs in nonhuman primates is critical for understanding how to improve upon immunogen design to inform further testing in human clinical trials. Our results demonstrate that structural modifications of Env that aim to mimic the CD4-bound conformation can result in earlier antibody elicitation, altered epitope specificity, and increased antiviral function postimmunization.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 251513552095776
Author(s):  
Supratik Das ◽  
Rajesh Kumar ◽  
Shubbir Ahmed ◽  
Hilal Ahmad Parray ◽  
Sweety Samal

The enormous diversity of HIV-1 is a significant impediment in selecting envelopes (Envs) that can be suitable for designing vaccine immunogens. While tremendous progress has been made in developing soluble, trimeric, native-like Env proteins, those that have elicited neutralizing antibodies (Abs) in animal models are relatively few. A strategy of selecting naturally occurring Envs suitable for immunogen design by studying the correlation between efficient cleavage on the cell surface and their selective binding to broadly neutralizing Abs (bNAbs) and not to non-neutralizing Abs (non-NAbs), properties essential in immunogens, may be useful. Here we discuss some of the challenges of developing an efficacious HIV-1 vaccine and the work done in generating soluble immunogens. We also discuss the study of naturally occurring, membrane-bound, efficiently cleaved (naturally more sensitive to furin) Envs and how they may positively add to the repertoire of HIV-1 Envs that can be used for vaccine immunogen design. However, even with such Envs, the challenges of developing well-folded, native-like trimers as soluble proteins or using other immunogen strategies such as virus-like particles with desirable antigenic properties remain, and are formidable. In spite of the progress that has been made in the HIV-1 vaccine field, an immunogen that elicits neutralizing Abs with significant breadth and potency in vaccines has still not been developed. Efficiently cleaved Envs may increase the number of available Envs suitable for immunogen design and should be studied further.


2014 ◽  
Vol 21 (12) ◽  
pp. 1230-1239
Author(s):  
Yang Zang ◽  
Jinpeng Bi ◽  
Dongchuan Du ◽  
Xintao Liu ◽  
Yan Zhang ◽  
...  

Eliciting efficient broadly neutralizing antibodies (BnAbs) is an important goal that has yet to be achieved for human immunodeficiency type 1 (HIV-1) vaccine development, although they are rarely produced in virus-infected individuals. In particular, inducing specific neutralizing antibodies to the gp41 membrane proximal external region (MPER) has proven a difficult task. In this study, we introduce Norovirus P particles as a new platform to display the MPER epitope of HIV-1 as a vaccine with the aim of enhancing immune responses. The results showed that HIV-1 chimeric P particles were capable of inducing MPER-specific antibody responses in immunized guinea pigs, although only weakly neutralizing activity could be detected. These findings are consistent with other previous studies which have also focused on the well-studied 2F5 and 4E10 BnAbs. Our findings provide an alternate strategy for design of vaccines against HIV-1. However, great challenges remain in the effort to develop vaccines that can induce efficient HIV-1 neutralizing antibodies.


2012 ◽  
Vol 109 (30) ◽  
pp. 12111-12116 ◽  
Author(s):  
James M. Kovacs ◽  
Joseph P. Nkolola ◽  
Hanqin Peng ◽  
Ann Cheung ◽  
James Perry ◽  
...  

Retrovirology ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (S2) ◽  
Author(s):  
JM Kovacs ◽  
JP Nkolola ◽  
H Peng ◽  
A Cheung ◽  
J Perry ◽  
...  

2005 ◽  
Vol 79 (14) ◽  
pp. 8812-8827 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Beddows ◽  
Norbert Schülke ◽  
Marc Kirschner ◽  
Kelly Barnes ◽  
Michael Franti ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) envelope glycoprotein (Env) complex comprises three gp120 exterior glycoproteins each noncovalently linked to a gp41 transmembrane glycoprotein. Monomeric gp120 proteins can elicit antibodies capable of neutralizing atypically sensitive test viruses in vitro, but these antibodies are ineffective against representative primary isolates and the gp120 vaccines failed to provide protection against HIV-1 transmission in vivo. Alternative approaches to raising neutralizing antibodies are therefore being pursued. Here we report on the antibody responses generated in rabbits against a soluble, cleaved, trimeric form of HIV-1JR-FL Env. In this construct, the gp120 and gp41 moieties are covalently linked by an intermolecular disulfide bond (SOS gp140), and an I559P substitution has been added to stabilize gp41-gp41 interactions (SOSIP gp140). We investigated the value of DNA priming and compared the use of membrane-bound and soluble priming antigens and of repeat boosting with soluble and particulate protein antigen. Compared to monomeric gp120, SOSIP gp140 trimers elicited approximately threefold lower titers of anti-gp120 antibodies. Priming with DNA encoding a membrane-bound form of the SOS gp140 protein, followed by several immunizations with soluble SOSIP gp140 trimers, resulted in antibodies capable of neutralizing sensitive strains at high titers. A subset of these sera also neutralized, at lower titers, HIV-1JR-FL and some other primary isolates in pseudovirus and/or whole-virus assays. Neutralization of these viruses was immunoglobulin mediated and was predominantly caused by antibodies to gp120 epitopes, but not the V3 region.


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