Serum neutralizing activities from a Beijing homosexual male cohort infected with different subtypes of HIV-1 in China
Zhang, Mingshun ; Jiao, Yanmei ; Wang, Shixia ; Zhang, Lu ; Huang, Zuhu ; Chen, Yuxin ; Wu, Hao
Citations
Student Authors
Faculty Advisor
Academic Program
UMass Chan Affiliations
Document Type
Publication Date
Keywords
Subject Area
Collections
Embargo Expiration Date
Link to Full Text
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.
Source
PLoS One. 2012;7(10):e47548. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0047548. Epub 2012 Oct 18. Link to article on publisher's site