Autologous Neutralizing Antibodies to the Transmitted/Founder Viruses Emerge Late after Simian Immunodeficiency Virus SIVmac251 Infection of Rhesus Monkeys

While the simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV)-infected rhesus monkey is an important animal model for human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection of humans, much remains to be learned about the evolution of the humoral immune response in this model. In HIV-1 infection, autologous neutralizing antibodies emerge 2 to 3 months after infection. However, the ontogeny of the SIV-specific neutralizing antibody response in mucosally infected animals has not been defined. We characterized the kinetics of the autologous neutralizing antibody response to the transmitted/founder SIVmac251 using a pseudovirion-based TZM-bl cell assay and monitored env sequence evolution using single-genome amplification in four rhesus animals that were infected via intrarectal inoculations. We show that the SIVmac251 founder viruses induced neutralizing antibodies at 5 to 8 months after infection. Despite their slow emergence and low titers, these neutralizing antibodies selected for escape mutants that harbored substitutions and deletions in variable region 1 (V1), V2, and V4 of Env. The neutralizing antibody response was initially focused on V4 at 5 to 8 months after infection and then targeted V1/V2 and V4 by 16 months. These findings reveal a striking delay in the development of neutralizing antibodies in SIVmac-infected animals, thus raising questions concerning the suitability of SIVmac251 as a challenge strain to screen AIDS vaccines that elicit neutralizing antibodies as a means to prevent virus acquisition. They also illustrate the capacity of the SIVmac quasispecies to modify antigenic determinants in response to very modest titers of neutralizing antibodies.While neutralizing antibodies (Nabs) mediate protection in humans against a diversity of viral pathogens (38, 53, 72), it is unclear how they impact human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection. One reason that the contribution of neutralizing antibodies to the control of HIV-1 remains uncertain is that HIV-specific neutralizing antibodies develop relatively late in natural infection. High titers of HIV-specific autologous neutralizing antibodies usually emerge as late as 2 to 3 months after infection and continue to evolve throughout the first years of infection (18, 25, 57, 66, 74). Such neutralizing antibodies have been shown to influence HIV-1 evolution within a host and to be responsible for viral escape mutations (47, 48, 58, 59). A better understanding of why there is a prolonged time associated with the maturation of the neutralizing antibody response in HIV-1 infection and whether conserved viral epitopes exist that could mediate antibody protection is important for the development of effective HIV-1 vaccine strategies.The simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV)/rhesus macaque model of AIDS provides an important system to study AIDS immunopathogenesis and to evaluate HIV-1 vaccine strategies. SIVmac251, an uncloned, pathogenic, CCR5-tropic virus isolate comprised of a swarm of quasispecies that are closely related (33), and SIVmac239, an infectious molecular clone derived from SIVmac251, are the two most commonly used rhesus monkey SIV challenge viruses utilized in AIDS vaccine research in the nonhuman primate (NHP) model. SIVmac239 has been shown to be relatively resistant to antibody-mediated neutralization by both autologous antibodies and a wide range of monoclonal antibodies (29, 30). The env sequence evolution in SIVmac239-infected rhesus monkeys and SIVMne-CL8-infected pigtailed macaques has been well described (8, 50, 51). Some of these changes in Env have been shown to result in viral escape from neutralizing antibodies (7, 10, 34, 60). In particular, a recent study by Sato et al. characterized SIVmac239 env sequence changes that were associated with viral escape in a rhesus monkey with an unusually high titer of neutralizing antibodies after intravenous infection (67). However, the antibody-mediated neutralization of SIVmac251 has not been tested rigorously using standardized assays that are currently being used to measure neutralization of HIV-1, thereby precluding a direct comparison of the neutralization sensitivities of HIV-1 and SIV. Furthermore, it is also unclear whether more typical titers of neutralizing antibodies against SIV239/251 exert selection pressure on the viral population in animals that acquire infection mucosally.The aims of this study were to elucidate the kinetics of the neutralizing antibody response against the transmitted viruses and the sequence evolution of env in association with humoral immunity in mucosally infected rhesus macaques. We hypothesized that a low titer of SIVmac Env-specific neutralizing antibodies exerts potent selection pressure on the viral quasispecies. To test this hypothesis, we utilized a pseudovirion-based TZM-bl reporter gene neutralization assay and single genome amplification (SGA) in order to characterize the humoral immune pressures driving viral sequence evolution in four rhesus monkeys that were infected with SIVmac251 via intrarectal inoculations.     

Balancing Reversion of Cytotoxic T-Lymphocyte and Neutralizing Antibody Escape Mutations within Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Env upon Transmission

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) envelope protein (Env) is subject to both neutralizing antibody (NAb) and CD8 T-cell (cytotoxic T-lymphocyte [CTL]) immune pressure. We studied the reversion of the Env CTL escape mutant virus to the wild type and the relationship between the reversion of CTL mutations with N-linked glycosylation site (NLGS)-driven NAb escape in pigtailed macaques. Env CTL mutations either did not revert to the wild type or only transiently reverted 5 to 7 weeks after infection. The CTL escape mutant reversion was coincident, for the same viral clones, with the loss of NLGS mutations. At one site studied, both CTL and NLGS mutations were needed to confer NAb escape. We conclude that CTL and NAb escape within Env can be tightly linked, suggesting opportunities to induce effective multicomponent anti-Env immunity.CD8 T-cell responses against human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) have long been observed to select for viral variants that avoid cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) recognition (2, 5, 15, 18, 27). These immune escape mutations may, however, result in reduced replication competence (“fitness cost”) (11, 20, 26). CTL escape variants have been shown to revert to the wild type (WT) upon passage to major histocompatibility complex-mismatched hosts, both in macaques with simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) or chimeric SIV/HIV (SHIV) infection (11, 12) and in humans with HIV type 1 (HIV-1) infection (1, 19).Most analyses of CTL escape and reversion have studied Gag CTL epitopes known to facilitate control of viremia (7, 14, 21, 30). Fewer analyses have studied Env-specific CTL epitopes. Recent sequencing studies suggest the potential for mutations within predicted HIV-1 Env-specific CTL epitopes to undergo reversion to the WT (16, 23). Env-specific CTL responses may, however, have less impact on viral control of both HIV-1 and SIV/SHIV than do Gag CTL responses (17, 24, 25), presumably reflecting either less-potent inhibition of viral replication or minimal fitness cost of escape (9).Serial viral escape from antibody pressure also occurs in both macaques and humans (3, 13, 28). Env is extensively glycosylated, and this “evolving glycan shield” can sterically block antibody binding without mutation at the antibody-binding site (8, 16, 31). Mutations at glycosylation sites, as well as other mutations, are associated with escape from neutralizing antibody (NAb) responses (4, 13, 29). Mutations in the amino acid sequences of N-linked glycosylation sites (NLGS) can alter the packing of the glycan cloud that surrounds the virion, by a loss, gain, or shift of an NLGS (32), thus facilitating NAb escape.Env is the only viral protein targeted by both CTL and NAb responses. The serial viral escape from both Env-specific CTL and NAb responses could have implications for viral fitness and the reversion of multiple mutations upon transmission to naïve hosts.We previously identified three common HIV-1 Env-specific CD8 T cell epitopes, RY8_788-795, SP9_110-118, and NL9_671-679, and their immune escape patterns in pigtail macaques (Macaca nemestrina) infected with SHIV_mn229 (25). SHIV_mn229 is a chimeric virus constructed from an SIV_mac239 backbone and an HIV-1_HXB2 env fragment that was passaged through macaques to become pathogenic (11). This earlier work provided an opportunity for detailed studies of how viruses with Env-specific CTL escape mutations, as well as mutations in adjacent NLGS, evolve when transmitted to naïve pigtail macaques.     

Potent and Broadly Reactive HIV-2 Neutralizing Antibodies Elicited by a Vaccinia Virus Vector Prime-C2V3C3 Polypeptide Boost Immunization Strategy

Human immunodeficiency virus type 2 (HIV-2) infection affects about 1 to 2 million individuals, the majority living in West Africa, Europe, and India. As for HIV-1, new strategies for the prevention of HIV-2 infection are needed. Our aim was to produce new vaccine immunogens that elicit the production of broadly reactive HIV-2 neutralizing antibodies (NAbs). Native and truncated envelope proteins from the reference HIV-2ALI isolate were expressed in vaccinia virus or in bacteria. This source isolate was used due to its unique phenotype combining CD4 independence and CCR5 usage. NAbs were not elicited in BALB/c mice by single immunization with a truncated and fully glycosylated envelope gp125 (gp125t) or a recombinant polypeptide comprising the C2, V3, and C3 envelope regions (rpC2-C3). A strong and broad NAb response was, however, elicited in mice primed with gp125t expressed in vaccinia virus and boosted with rpC2-C3. Serum from these animals potently neutralized (median 50% neutralizing titer, 3,200) six of six highly divergent primary HIV-2 isolates. Coreceptor usage and the V3 sequence of NAb-sensitive isolates were similar to that of the vaccinating immunogen (HIV-2ALI). In contrast, NAbs were not reactive on three X4 isolates that displayed major changes in V3 loop sequence and structure. Collectively, our findings demonstrate that broadly reactive HIV-2 NAbs can be elicited by using a vaccinia virus vector-prime/rpC2-C3-boost immunization strategy and suggest a potential relationship between escape to neutralization and cell tropism.Human immunodeficiency virus type 2 (HIV-2) infection affects 1 to 2 million individuals, most of whom live in India, West Africa, and Europe (17). HIV-2 has diversified into eight genetic groups named A to H, of which group A is by far the most prevalent worldwide. Nucleotide sequences of Env can differ up to 21% within a particular group and by over 35% between groups.The mortality rate in HIV-2-infected patients is at least twice that of uninfected individuals (26). Nonetheless, the majority of HIV-2-infected individuals survive as elite controllers (17). In the absence of antiretroviral therapy, the numbers of infected cells (39) and viral loads (36) are much lower among HIV-2-infected individuals than among those who are HIV-1 infected. This may be related to a more effective immune response produced against HIV-2. In fact, most HIV-2-infected individuals have proliferative T-cell responses and strong cytotoxic responses to Env and Gag proteins (17, 31). Moreover, autologous and heterologous neutralizing antibodies (NAbs) are raised in most HIV-2-infected individuals (8, 32, 48, 52), and the virus seems unable to escape from these antibodies (52). As for HIV-1, the antibody specificities that mediate HIV-2 neutralization and control are still elusive. The V3 region in the envelope gp125 has been identified as a neutralizing target by some but not by all investigators (3, 6, 7, 11, 40, 47, 54). Other weakly neutralizing epitopes were identified in the V1, V2, V4, and C5 regions in gp125 and in the COOH-terminal region of the gp41 ectodomain (6, 7, 41). A better understanding of the neutralizing determinants in the HIV-2 Env will provide crucial information regarding the most relevant targets for vaccine design.The development of immunogens that elicit the production of broadly reactive NAbs is considered the number one priority for the HIV-1 vaccine field (4, 42). Most current HIV-1 vaccine candidates intended to elicit such broadly reactive NAbs are based on purified envelope constructs that mimic the structure of the most conserved neutralizing epitopes in the native trimeric Env complex and/or on the expression of wild-type or modified envelope glycoproteins by different types of expression vectors (4, 5, 29, 49, 58). With respect to HIV-2, purified gp125 glycoprotein or synthetic peptides representing selected V3 regions from HIV-2 strain SBL6669 induced autologous and heterologous NAbs in mice or guinea pigs (6, 7, 22). However, immunization of cynomolgus monkeys with a subunit vaccine consisting of gp130 (HIV-2BEN) micelles offered little protection against autologous or heterologous challenge (34). Immunization of rhesus (19, 44, 45) and cynomolgus (1) monkeys with canarypox or attenuated vaccinia virus expressing several HIV-2 SBL6669 proteins, including the envelope glycoproteins, in combination with booster immunizations with gp160, gp125, or V3 synthetic peptides, elicited a weak neutralizing response and partial protection against autologous HIV-2 challenge. Likewise, vaccination of rhesus monkeys with immunogens derived from the historic HIV-2ROD strain failed to generate neutralizing antibodies and to protect against heterologous challenge (55). Finally, baboons inoculated with a DNA vaccine expressing the tat, nef, gag, and env genes of the HIV-2UC2 group B isolate were partially protected against autologous challenge without the production of neutralizing antibodies (33). These studies illustrate the urgent need for new vaccine immunogens and/or vaccination strategies that elicit the production of broadly reactive NAbs against HIV-2. The present study was designed to investigate in the mouse model the immunogenicity and neutralizing response elicited by novel recombinant envelope proteins derived from the reference primary HIV-2ALI isolate, when administered alone or in different prime-boost combinations.     

Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Elite Neutralizers: Individuals with Broad and Potent Neutralizing Activity Identified by Using a High-Throughput Neutralization Assay together with an Analytical Selection Algorithm

The development of a rapid and efficient system to identify human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)-infected individuals with broad and potent HIV-1-specific neutralizing antibody responses is an important step toward the discovery of critical neutralization targets for rational AIDS vaccine design. In this study, samples from HIV-1-infected volunteers from diverse epidemiological regions were screened for neutralization responses using pseudovirus panels composed of clades A, B, C, and D and circulating recombinant forms (CRFs). Initially, 463 serum and plasma samples from Australia, Rwanda, Uganda, the United Kingdom, and Zambia were screened to explore neutralization patterns and selection ranking algorithms. Samples were identified that neutralized representative isolates from at least four clade/CRF groups with titers above prespecified thresholds and ranked based on a weighted average of their log-transformed neutralization titers. Linear regression methods selected a five-pseudovirus subset, representing clades A, B, and C and one CRF01_AE, that could identify top-ranking samples with 50% inhibitory concentration (IC₅₀) neutralization titers of ≥100 to multiple isolates within at least four clade groups. This reduced panel was then used to screen 1,234 new samples from the Ivory Coast, Kenya, South Africa, Thailand, and the United States, and 1% were identified as elite neutralizers. Elite activity is defined as the ability to neutralize, on average, more than one pseudovirus at an IC₅₀ titer of 300 within a clade group and across at least four clade groups. These elite neutralizers provide promising starting material for the isolation of broadly neutralizing monoclonal antibodies to assist in HIV-1 vaccine design.Since the identification of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) as the cause of AIDS, one of the greatest challenges has been the development of a vaccine that will prevent infection and/or ameliorate disease progression (38, 43). Although over 100 phase I, II, and III vaccine clinical trials of different candidates have been conducted all over the world, only a few candidates have advanced to efficacy testing and none has yet to show any benefit in prevention or control of HIV-1 (HIV Vaccine Database; www.iavi.org). In other viral diseases (such as polio, influenza, and measles), neutralizing antibodies are generated as part of either the natural immune response to infection or the response to immunization, and their role in protective immunity is well established (10, 12, 15, 22, 37, 42, 45, 47, 49, 52). For HIV-1, studies in animal models indicate that both broadly neutralizing antibodies and cell-mediated responses may be required to provide vaccine protection (7, 14, 16, 20, 29, 31, 33, 34, 39, 53). Unlike many other viruses, HIV-1 is highly variable, with multiple subtypes and recombinant forms circulating in different regions of the world. This high level of HIV-1 genetic variability, particularly in the envelope glycoproteins (gp120 and gp41), has been one of the greatest obstacles in development of a safe and effective HIV-1 vaccine and in particular in the elicitation of broadly neutralizing antibodies. In addition, HIV-1 has other mechanisms of immune escape preventing elicitation of broadly neutralizing antibodies, including the heavy glycosylation of the envelope glycoproteins, instability of such glycoproteins, and conformational masking of receptor-binding sites (6, 25, 32).Despite the enormous diversity of HIV-1, a relatively small number of broadly neutralizing monoclonal antibodies (bnMAbs) have been isolated, providing evidence that broad neutralization by single antibody specificities can be achieved (3-5, 8, 9, 17, 21, 23, 24, 29, 35, 36, 40, 41, 44, 50, 51, 55). Structures for such bnMAbs have been determined in complex with HIV-1 Env (26, 54) and provide starting points for the design of immunogens capable of eliciting broadly neutralizing antibodies. However, since there are only a few such bnMAbs, we established a global program as part of International AIDS Vaccine Initiative''s (IAVI''s) Neutralizing Antibody Consortium (6), aimed at screening HIV-1⁺ subjects with the goal of identifying individuals with broad and potent neutralizing activities as a potential source of novel bnMAbs, with an emphasis placed on individuals infected with non-clade B viruses. This paper describes the screening algorithm implemented to successfully identify HIV-1⁺ subjects with broadly neutralizing antibodies, including a subset of individuals termed “elite neutralizers.” These volunteers will be studied further to characterize the specificities of serum antibodies and will provide source materials for isolation of bnMAbs.     

Broad Neutralization of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 (HIV-1) Elicited from Human Rhinoviruses That Display the HIV-1 gp41 ELDKWA Epitope

In efforts to develop AIDS vaccine components, we generated combinatorial libraries of recombinant human rhinoviruses that display the well-conserved ELDKWA epitope of the membrane-proximal external region of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) gp41. The broadly neutralizing human monoclonal antibody 2F5 was used to select for viruses whose ELDKWA conformations resemble those of HIV. Immunization of guinea pigs with different chimeras, some boosted with ELDKWA-based peptides, elicited antibodies capable of neutralizing HIV-1 pseudoviruses of diverse subtypes and coreceptor usages. These recombinant immunogens are the first reported that elicit broad, albeit modest, neutralization of HIV-1 using an ELDKWA-based epitope and are among the few reported that elicit broad neutralization directed against any recombinant HIV epitope, providing a critical advance in developing effective AIDS vaccine components.The development of an AIDS vaccine is an ongoing and urgent challenge. One of the major hurdles is that the specific correlates of protection against human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) are still largely unknown. Nonetheless, most agree that the full complement of cellular and humoral components of the immune system will be needed to combat this virus. This is especially true given that the virus resides permanently in its host, infects the very cells needed to direct effective immune responses, and evades the immune system, either by changing in appearance or hiding in subcellular compartments.A broadly reactive neutralizing antibody response is likely to be critical as a first line of defense upon initial HIV exposure by aiding in the clearance of cell-free virions, targeting infected cells for destruction, and preventing viral spread through cell-to-cell transmission. The presence of inhibitory antibodies in highly exposed persistently seronegative individuals testifies to the importance of the humoral response (9, 37). Additionally, broadly neutralizing serum has been associated with healthier prognoses for infected individuals (27, 65) and may be vital for protecting offspring from their infected mothers (7, 79) and preventing superinfection by heterologous HIV strains (23, 84). Even if complete protection cannot be achieved by vaccine-derived antibodies, an early, well-poised and effective neutralizing antibody repertoire may be able to lower the set point of the viral load following the initial burst of viremia, an outcome that has been reported to translate into improved disease outcomes and reduced transmission of HIV (66, 74). Further benefits of neutralizing antibodies have been seen with passive immunization studies in macaques, in which administration of broadly neutralizing monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) has demonstrated that it is possible to provide protection from—and even sterilizing immunity against—HIV infection (5, 51, 66). There is also evidence that such antibodies may provide therapeutic benefits for chronically infected individuals, analogous to benefits realized with anti-HIV drug treatment regimens (87).Despite the promising potential of broadly neutralizing MAbs, designing immunogens that can elicit such cross-reactive neutralizing responses against HIV has been a surprisingly difficult task. Since the majority of the host''s B-cell response is directed against the envelope (Env) glycoproteins, gp120 and gp41, vaccine efforts have concentrated on these proteins and derivatives thereof in approaches ranging from the use of Env-based peptide cocktails to recombinant proteins and DNAs made with varied or consensus sequences and diverse, heterologous prime/protein boost regimens (reviewed in references 36, 58, and 70). These iterative studies have shown notable improvements in the potency and breadth of neutralizing responses induced. However, concerns exist regarding immunogens containing extraneous epitopes, as is the case with intact subunits of Env, and the nature of the immune responses they may elicit. A polyclonal burst of antibodies against a multitude of nonfunctional epitopes may include a predominance of antibodies that are (i) low affinity and/or nonfunctional (reviewed in reference 72); (ii) isolate specific (25); (iii) able to interfere with the neutralizing capabilities of otherwise-effective antibodies (via steric hindrance or by inducing various forms of B-cell pathology) (67); or (iv) directed against irrelevant epitopes instead of more conserved (and sometimes concealed) epitopes that might be able to elicit more potent and cross-reactive neutralizing responses (28, 71, 91).We have developed a system that can be used to present essentially any chosen epitope in a stable, well-exposed manner on the surface of the cold-causing human rhinovirus (HRV). HRV is itself a powerful immunogen and is able to elicit T-cell as well as serum and mucosal B-cell responses (reviewed by Couch [22]) and has minimal immunologic similarity to HIV (data not shown). Chimeric viruses displaying optimal epitopes should be able to serve as valuable components in an effective vaccine cocktail or as part of a heterologous prime/boost protocol. We have shown previously that HRV chimeric viruses displaying HIV-1 gp120 V3 loop sequences are able to elicit neutralizing responses against HIV-1 (75, 82, 83).In this study, we focused our attention on presenting part of the membrane-proximal external region (MPER) of the transmembrane glycoprotein gp41, a region of approximately 30 amino acids adjacent to the transmembrane domain (reviewed in references 59 and 97). The MPER plays an important role in the process of HIV fusion to the host cell membrane (60, 78). This region is also involved in binding to galactosylceramide, an important component of cell membranes, thus permitting CD4-independent transcytosis of the virus across epithelial cells at mucosal surfaces (1, 2). These functions likely explain this region''s sequence conservation and the efficacy of antibodies directed against the MPER (97), particularly given that an estimated 80% of HIV-1 infections are sexually transmitted at mucosal membranes. In fact, potent responses against the MPER are associated with stronger and broader neutralizing capabilities in infected individuals (68). A conserved, contiguous sequence of the MPER, the ELDKWA epitope (HIV-1 HxB2 gp41 residues 662 to 668), is recognized by the particularly broadly neutralizing human MAb 2F5 (11, 62, 85) and is highly resistant to escape mutation in the presence of 2F5 (49). 2F5 was also used in the MAb cocktails reported to confer passive, protective immunity in macaques (5, 51). In addition, infected individuals producing neutralizing antibodies directed against the ELDKWA epitope have been seen to exhibit better health (16, 29), including persistent seronegativity (8), and reduced transmission of HIV to offspring (89). While none of the vaccine-induced immune responses generated against this region has been effective thus far (19, 24, 26, 33, 35, 38, 40, 42, 44-48, 50, 53, 54, 56, 57, 61, 63, 69, 93, 96) (see Table S1 in the supplemental material), more appropriate presentations of MPER epitopes should produce valuable immunogens that can contribute to a successful vaccine.In this study, we have grafted the ELDKWA epitope onto a surface loop of HRV connected via linkers of variable lengths and sequences and selected for viruses well recognized and neutralized by MAb 2F5. In so doing, we have been able to create immunogens capable of eliciting antibodies whose activities mimic some of those of 2F5. The combinatorial libraries produced were designed to encode a large set of possible sequences and, hence, structures from which we could search for valuable conformations. This work illustrates that HRV chimeras have the potential to present selected HIV epitopes in a focused and immunogenic manner.     

Crystallographic Definition of the Epitope Promiscuity of the Broadly Neutralizing Anti-Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Antibody 2F5: Vaccine Design Implications

The quest to create a human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) vaccine capable of eliciting broadly neutralizing antibodies against Env has been challenging. Among other problems, one difficulty in creating a potent immunogen resides in the substantial overall sequence variability of the HIV envelope protein. The membrane-proximal region (MPER) of gp41 is a particularly conserved tryptophan-rich region spanning residues 659 to 683, which is recognized by three broadly neutralizing monoclonal antibodies (bnMAbs), 2F5, Z13, and 4E10. In this study, we first describe the variability of residues in the gp41 MPER and report on the invariant nature of 15 out of 25 amino acids comprising this region. Subsequently, we evaluate the ability of the bnMAb 2F5 to recognize 31 varying sequences of the gp41 MPER at a molecular level. In 19 cases, resulting crystal structures show the various MPER peptides bound to the 2F5 Fab′. A variety of amino acid substitutions outside the ⁶⁶⁴DKW⁶⁶⁶ core epitope are tolerated. However, changes at the ⁶⁶⁴DKW⁶⁶⁶ motif itself are restricted to those residues that preserve the aspartate''s negative charge, the hydrophobic alkyl-π stacking arrangement between the β-turn lysine and tryptophan, and the positive charge of the former. We also characterize a possible molecular mechanism of 2F5 escape by sequence variability at position 667, which is often observed in HIV-1 clade C isolates. Based on our results, we propose a somewhat more flexible molecular model of epitope recognition by bnMAb 2F5, which could guide future attempts at designing small-molecule MPER-like vaccines capable of eliciting 2F5-like antibodies.Eliciting broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs) against primary isolates of human immunodeficiency virus type I (HIV-1) has been identified as a major milestone to attain in the quest for a vaccine in the fight against AIDS (12, 28). These antibodies would need to interact with HIV-1 envelope glycoproteins gp41 and/or gp120 (Env), target conserved regions and functional conformations of gp41/gp120 trimeric complexes, and prevent new HIV-1 fusion events with target cells (21, 57, 70, 71). Although a humoral response generating neutralizing antibodies against HIV-1 can be detected in HIV-1-positive individuals, the titers are often very low, and virus control is seldom achieved by these neutralizing antibodies (22, 51, 52, 66, 67). The difficulty in eliciting a broad and potent neutralizing antibody response against HIV-1 is thought to reside in the high degree of genetic diversity of the virus, in the heterogeneity of Env on the surface of HIV-1, and in the masking of functional regions by conformational covering, by an extensive glycan shield, or by the ability of some conserved domains to partition to the viral membrane (24, 25, 29, 30, 38, 39, 56, 68, 69). So far, vaccine trials using as immunogens mimics of Env in different conformations have primarily elicited antibodies with only limited neutralization potency across different HIV-1 clades although recent work has demonstrated more encouraging results (4, 12, 61).The use of conserved regions on gp41 and gp120 Env as targets for vaccine design has been mostly characterized by the very few anti-HIV-1 broadly neutralizing monoclonal antibodies (bnMAbs) that recognize them: the CD4 binding-site on gp120 (bnMAb b12), a CD4-induced gp120 coreceptor binding site (bnMAbs 17b and X5), a mannose cluster on the outer face of gp120 (bnMAb 2G12), and the membrane proximal external region (MPER) of gp41 (bnMAbs 2F5, Z13 and 4E10) (13, 29, 44, 58, 73). The gp41 MPER region is a particularly conserved part of Env that spans residues 659 to 683 (HXB2 numbering) (37, 75). Substitution and deletion studies have linked this unusually tryptophan-rich region to the fusion process of HIV-1, possibly involving a series of conformational changes (5, 37, 41, 49, 54, 74). Additionally, the gp41 MPER has been implicated in gp41 oligomerization, membrane leakage ability facilitating pore formation, and binding to the galactosyl ceramide receptor on epithelial cells for initial mucosal infection mediated by transcytosis (2, 3, 40, 53, 63, 64, 72). This wide array of roles for the gp41 MPER will put considerable pressure on sequence conservation, and any change will certainly lead to a high cost in viral fitness.Monoclonal antibody 2F5 is a broadly neutralizing monoclonal anti-HIV-1 antibody isolated from a panel of sera from naturally infected asymptomatic individuals. It reacts with a core gp41 MPER epitope spanning residues 662 to 668 with the linear sequence ELDKWAS (6, 11, 42, 62, 75). 2F5 immunoglobulin G binding studies and screening of phage display libraries demonstrated that the DKW core is essential for 2F5 recognition and binding (15, 36, 50). Crystal structures of 2F5 with peptides representing its core gp41 epitope reveal a β-turn conformation involving the central DKW residues, flanked by an extended conformation and a canonical α-helical turn for residues located at the N terminus and C terminus of the core, respectively (9, 27, 45, 47). In addition to binding to its primary epitope, evidence is accumulating that 2F5 also undergoes secondary interactions: multiple reports have demonstrated affinity of 2F5 for membrane components, possibly through its partly hydrophobic flexible elongated complementarity-determining region (CDR) H3 loop, and it has also been suggested that 2F5 might interact in a secondary manner with other regions of gp41 (1, 10, 23, 32, 33, 55). Altogether, even though the characteristics of 2F5 interaction with its linear MPER consensus epitope have been described extensively, a number of questions persist about the exact mechanism of 2F5 neutralization at a molecular level.One such ambiguous area of the neutralization mechanism of 2F5 is investigated in this study. Indeed, compared to bnMAb 4E10, 2F5 is the more potent neutralizing antibody although its breadth across different HIV-1 isolates is more limited (6, 35). In an attempt to shed light on the exact molecular requirements for 2F5 recognition of its primary gp41 MPER epitope, we performed structural studies of 2F5 Fab′ with a variety of peptides. The remarkable breadth of possible 2F5 interactions reveals a somewhat surprising promiscuity of the 2F5 binding site. Furthermore, we link our structural observations with the natural variation observed within the gp41 MPER and discuss possible routes of 2F5 escape from a molecular standpoint. Finally, our discovery of 2F5''s ability to tolerate a rather broad spectrum of amino acids in its binding, a spectrum that even includes nonnatural amino acids, opens the door to new ways to design small-molecule immunogens potentially capable of eliciting 2F5-like neutralizing antibodies.     

Envelope Vaccination Shapes Viral Envelope Evolution following Simian Immunodeficiency Virus Infection in Rhesus Monkeys

The evolution of envelope mutations by replicating primate immunodeficiency viruses allows these viruses to escape from the immune pressure mediated by neutralizing antibodies. Vaccine-induced anti-envelope antibody responses may accelerate and/or alter the specificity of the antibodies, thus shaping the evolution of envelope mutations in the replicating virus. To explore this possibility, we studied the neutralizing antibody response and the envelope sequences in rhesus monkeys vaccinated with either gag-pol-nef immunogens or gag-pol-nef immunogens in combination with env and then infected with simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV). Using a pseudovirion neutralization assay, we demonstrate that envelope vaccination primed for an accelerated neutralizing antibody response following virus challenge. To monitor viral envelope evolution in these two cohorts of monkeys, full-length envelopes from plasma virus isolated at weeks 37 and 62 postchallenge were sequenced by single genome amplification to identify sites of envelope mutations. We show that env vaccination was associated with a change in the pattern of envelope mutations. Prevalent mutations in sequences from gag-pol-nef vaccinees included deletions in both variable regions 1 and 4 (V1 and V4), whereas deletions in the env vaccinees occurred only in V1. These data show that env vaccination altered the focus of the antibody-mediated selection pressure on the evolution of envelope following SIV challenge.Immune containment of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1) is complicated by the continuous genetic evolution of the virus. The evolution of the HIV-1 envelope is shaped, in part, by selective pressure of neutralizing antibodies (6, 12, 27, 34-36, 40). Changes in envelope sequence and glycosylation patterns following infection can allow the virus to escape neutralization. If the rate and extent of envelope sequence evolution following infection can be decreased, immune containment of HIV-1 may be improved.One possible strategy for modifying envelope evolution is vaccination prior to infection. A vaccine-elicited memory immune response could focus and potentiate the humoral immune response that develops following infection. The possible consequence of vaccination has not been assessed, however, because of the limited number of human volunteers who have received highly immunogenic envelope immunogens and subsequently became infected with HIV-1.Simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) infection of rhesus monkeys provides a powerful model to study the effect of vaccination on envelope evolution. Like HIV-1, SIV employs both the CD4 molecule and the chemokine receptor CCR5 to enter a target cell and cause an AIDS-like disease in macaques (16, 22). Both SIV and HIV-1 envelopes are heavily glycosylated, with approximately 50% of their mass derived from carbohydrates (14, 21). SIV and HIV-1 envelopes share approximately 40% amino acid homology (10, 11) and have overlapping variable and constant regions, although the variable region 3 (V3) of HIV-1 envelope does not align with the homologous region of SIV envelope (7). Following SIV infection in rhesus monkeys, SIV envelope evolves most rapidly in variable regions 1 and 4 (V1 and V4, respectively), leading to nucleotide additions, deletions, and/or mutations that can potentially translate to changes in glycosylation (7, 9, 13, 15, 19, 29, 30).Studies done to characterize SIV neutralization suggest that it occurs through mechanisms similar to those seen in HIV-1 neutralization. Amino acid mutations in the envelope of both viruses contribute to the evasion of antibody binding directly by changing recognition sequences and/or envelope conformation. In addition, the glycosylation of envelope serves as a further obstacle to antibody recognition (20, 33, 40). Considerable effort has been devoted to defining neutralizing epitopes of the HIV and SIV envelopes. The known neutralizing human monoclonal antibodies elicited during natural infection are directed against HIV-1 envelope target sites on both gp120 and gp41, including the V3 region, the CD4 binding site, oligomannose residues of gp120, and gp41 (17, 31). The neutralizing epitope profile of SIV envelope includes the CD4 binding site and gp41 but not the V3 region. There is conflicting evidence as to whether V1, V2, and/or V4 of SIV are targets for antibody neutralization (15, 18, 19). The present study addresses whether vaccine-induced immune responses accelerate the generation of autologous neutralizing antibodies following SIV challenge in rhesus monkeys and how this humoral immune response can potentially shape viral sequence evolution.     

Utilization of Immunoglobulin G Fc Receptors by Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1: a Specific Role for Antibodies against the Membrane-Proximal External Region of gp41

Receptors (FcγRs) for the constant region of immunoglobulin G (IgG) are an important link between humoral immunity and cellular immunity. To help define the role of FcγRs in determining the fate of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) immune complexes, cDNAs for the four major human Fcγ receptors (FcγRI, FcγRIIa, FcγRIIb, and FcγRIIIa) were stably expressed by lentiviral transduction in a cell line (TZM-bl) commonly used for standardized assessments of HIV-1 neutralization. Individual cell lines, each expressing a different FcγR, bound human IgG, as evidence that the physical properties of the receptors were preserved. In assays with a HIV-1 multisubtype panel, the neutralizing activities of two monoclonal antibodies (2F5 and 4E10) that target the membrane-proximal external region (MPER) of gp41 were potentiated by FcγRI and, to a lesser extent, by FcγRIIb. Moreover, the neutralizing activity of an HIV-1-positive plasma sample known to contain gp41 MPER-specific antibodies was potentiated by FcγRI. The neutralizing activities of monoclonal antibodies b12 and 2G12 and other HIV-1-positive plasma samples were rarely affected by any of the four FcγRs. Effects with gp41 MPER-specific antibodies were moderately stronger for IgG1 than for IgG3 and were ineffective for Fab. We conclude that FcγRI and FcγRIIb facilitate antibody-mediated neutralization of HIV-1 by a mechanism that is dependent on the Fc region, IgG subclass, and epitope specificity of antibody. The FcγR effects seen here suggests that the MPER of gp41 could have greater value for vaccines than previously recognized.Fc receptors (FcRs) are differentially expressed on a variety of cells of hematopoietic lineage, where they bind the constant region of antibody (Ab) and provide a link between humoral and cellular immunity. Humans possess two classes of FcRs for the constant region of IgG (FcγRs) that, when cross-linked, are distinguished by their ability to either activate or inhibit cell signaling (69, 77, 79). The activating receptors FcγRI (CD64), FcγRIIa (CD32), and FcγRIII (CD16) signal through an immunoreceptor tyrosine-based activation motif (ITAM), whereas FcγRIIb (CD32) contains an inhibitory motif (ITIM) that counters ITAM signals and B-cell receptor signals. It has been suggested that a balance between activating and inhibitory FcγRs coexpressed on the same cells plays an important role in regulating adaptive immunity (23, 68). Moreover, the inhibitory FcγRIIb, being the sole FcγR on B cells, appears to play an important role in regulating self-tolerance (23, 68). The biologic role of FcγRs may be further influenced by differences in their affinity for immunoglobulin G (IgG); thus, FcγRI is a high-affinity receptor that binds monomeric IgG (mIgG) and IgG immune complexes (IC), whereas FcγRIIa, FcγRIIb, and FcγRIIIa are medium- to low-affinity receptors that preferentially bind IgG IC (10, 49, 78). FcγRs also exhibit differences in their relative affinity for the four IgG subclasses (10), which has been suggested to influence the balance between activating and inhibitory FcγRs (67).In addition to their participation in acquired immunity, FcγRs can mediate several innate immune functions, including phagocytosis of opsonized pathogens, Ab-dependent cell cytotoxicity (ADCC), antigen uptake by professional antigen-presenting cells, and the production of inflammatory cytokines and chemokines (26, 35, 41, 48, 69). In some cases, interaction of Ab-coated viruses with FcγRs may be exploited by viruses as a means to facilitate entry into FcγR-expressing cells (2, 33, 47, 84). Several groups have reported FcγR-mediated Ab-dependent enhancement (ADE) of HIV-1 infection in vitro (47, 51, 58, 63, 94, 96), whereas other reports have implicated FcγRs in efficient inhibition of the virus in vitro (19, 21, 29, 44-46, 62, 98) and possibly as having beneficial effects against HIV-1 in vivo (5, 27, 28, 42). These conflicting results are further complicated by the fact that HIV-1-susceptible cells, such as monocytes and macrophages, can coexpress more than one FcγR (66, 77, 79).HIV-1 entry requires sequential interactions between the viral surface glycoprotein, gp120, and its cellular receptor (CD4) and coreceptor (usually CCR5 or CXCR4), followed by membrane fusion that is mediated by the viral transmembrane glycoprotein gp41 (17, 106). Abs neutralize the virus by binding either gp120 or gp41 and blocking entry into cells. Several human monoclonal Abs that neutralize a broad spectrum of HIV-1 variants have attracted considerable interest for vaccine design. Epitopes for these monoclonal Abs include the receptor binding domain of gp120 in the case of b12 (71, 86), a glycan-specific epitope on gp120 in the case of 2G12 (13, 85, 86), and two adjacent epitopes in the membrane-proximal external region (MPER) of g41 in the cases of 2F5 and 4E10 (3, 11, 38, 93). At least three of these monoclonal Abs have been shown to interact with FcRs and to mediate ADCC (42, 43).A highly standardized and validated assay for neutralizing Abs against HIV-1 that quantifies reductions in luciferase (Luc) reporter gene expression after a single round of virus infection in TZM-bl cells has been developed (60, 104). TZM-bl (also called JC53BL-13) is a CXCR4-positive HeLa cell line that was engineered to express CD4 and CCR5 and to contain integrated reporter genes for firefly Luc and Escherichia coli β-galactosidase under the control of the HIV-1 Tat-regulated promoter in the long terminal repeat terminal repeat sequence (74, 103). TZM-bl cells are permissive to infection by a wide variety of HIV-1, simian immunodeficiency virus, and human-simian immunodeficiency virus strains, including molecularly cloned Env-pseudotyped viruses. Here we report the creation and characterization of four new TZM-bl cell lines, each expressing one of the major human FcγRs. These new cell lines were used to gain a better understanding of the individual roles that FcγRs play in determining the fate of HIV-1 IC. Two FcγRs that potentiated the neutralizing activity of gp41 MPER-specific Abs were identified.     

Preinfection Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)-Specific Cytotoxic T Lymphocytes Failed To Prevent HIV Type 1 Infection from Strains Genetically Unrelated to Viruses in Long-Term Exposed Partners

Understanding the mechanisms underlying potential altered susceptibility to human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection in highly exposed seronegative (ES) individuals and the later clinical consequences of breakthrough infection can provide insight into strategies to control HIV-1 with an effective vaccine. From our Seattle ES cohort, we identified one individual (LSC63) who seroconverted after over 2 years of repeated unprotected sexual contact with his HIV-1-infected partner (P63) and other sexual partners of unknown HIV-1 serostatus. The HIV-1 variants infecting LSC63 were genetically unrelated to those sequenced from P63. This may not be surprising, since viral load measurements in P63 were repeatedly below 50 copies/ml, making him an unlikely transmitter. However, broad HIV-1-specific cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) responses were detected in LSC63 before seroconversion. Compared to those detected after seroconversion, these responses were of lower magnitude and half of them targeted different regions of the viral proteome. Strong HLA-B27-restricted CTLs, which have been associated with disease control, were detected in LSC63 after but not before seroconversion. Furthermore, for the majority of the protein-coding regions of the HIV-1 variants in LSC63 (except gp41, nef, and the 3′ half of pol), the genetic distances between the infecting viruses and the viruses to which he was exposed through P63 (termed the exposed virus) were comparable to the distances between random subtype B HIV-1 sequences and the exposed viruses. These results suggest that broad preinfection immune responses were not able to prevent the acquisition of HIV-1 infection in LSC63, even though the infecting viruses were not particularly distant from the viruses that may have elicited these responses.Understanding the mechanisms of altered susceptibility or control of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection in highly exposed seronegative (ES) persons may provide invaluable information aiding the design of HIV-1 vaccines and therapy (9, 14, 15, 33, 45, 57, 58). In a cohort of female commercial sex workers in Nairobi, Kenya, a small proportion of individuals remained seronegative for over 3 years despite the continued practice of unprotected sex (12, 28, 55, 56). Similarly, resistance to HIV-1 infection has been reported in homosexual men who frequently practiced unprotected sex with infected partners (1, 15, 17, 21, 61). Multiple factors have been associated with the resistance to HIV-1 infection in ES individuals (32), including host genetic factors (8, 16, 20, 37-39, 44, 46, 47, 49, 59, 63), such as certain HLA class I and II alleles (41), as well as cellular (1, 15, 26, 55, 56), humoral (25, 29), and innate immune responses (22, 35).Seroconversion in previously HIV-resistant Nairobi female commercial sex workers, despite preexisting HIV-specific cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) responses, has been reported (27). Similarly, 13 of 125 ES enrollees in our Seattle ES cohort (1, 15, 17) have become late seroconverters (H. Zhu, T. Andrus, Y. Liu, and T. Zhu, unpublished observations). Here, we analyze the virology, genetics, and immune responses of HIV-1 infection in one of the later seroconverting subjects, LSC63, who had developed broad CTL responses before seroconversion.     

Virological Synapse-Mediated Spread of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 between T Cells Is Sensitive to Entry Inhibition

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) can disseminate between CD4⁺ T cells via diffusion-limited cell-free viral spread or by directed cell-cell transfer using virally induced structures termed virological synapses. Although T-cell virological synapses have been well characterized, it is unclear whether this mode of viral spread is susceptible to inhibition by neutralizing antibodies and entry inhibitors. We show here that both cell-cell and cell-free viral spread are equivalently sensitive to entry inhibition. Fluorescence imaging analysis measuring virological synapse lifetimes and inhibitor time-of-addition studies implied that inhibitors can access preformed virological synapses and interfere with HIV-1 cell-cell infection. This concept was supported by electron tomography that revealed the T-cell virological synapse to be a relatively permeable structure. Virological synapse-mediated HIV-1 spread is thus efficient but is not an immune or entry inhibitor evasion mechanism, a result that is encouraging for vaccine and drug design.As with enveloped viruses from several viral families, the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) can disseminate both by fluid-phase diffusion of viral particles and by directed cell-cell transfer (39). The primary target cell for HIV-1 replication in vivo is the CD4⁺ T-cell (13), which is infectible by CCR5-tropic (R5) and CXCR4-tropic (X4) viral variants (29). R5 HIV-1 is the major transmitted viral phenotype and dominates the global pandemic, whereas X4 virus is found later in infection in ca. 50% of infected individuals, and its presence indicates a poor disease progression prognosis (23). Cell-cell HIV-1 transfer between T cells is more efficient than diffusion-limited spread (8, 16, 32, 38), although recent estimates for the differential range from approximately 1 (42) to 4 (6) orders of magnitude. Two structures have been proposed to support contact-mediated intercellular movement of HIV-1 between T cells: membrane nanotubes (33, 43) and macromolecular adhesive contacts termed virological synapses (VS) (15, 17, 33). VS appear to be the dominant structure involved in T-cell-T-cell spread (33), and both X4 (17) and R5 HIV-1 (6, 15, 42) can spread between T cells via this mechanism.VS assembly and function are dependent on HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein (Env) engaging its primary cellular receptor CD4 (2, 6, 17). This interaction recruits more CD4 and coreceptor to the site of cell-cell contact in an actin-dependent manner (17). Adhesion molecules cluster at the intercellular junction and are thought to stabilize the VS (18). In parallel, viral Env and Gag are recruited to the interface by a microtubule-dependent mechanism (19), where polarized viral budding may release virions into the synaptic space across which the target cell is infected (17). The precise mechanism by which HIV-1 subsequently enters the target T-cell cytoplasm remains unclear: by fusion directly at the plasma membrane, fusion from within an endosomal compartment, or both (4, 6, 15, 25, 34).Viruses from diverse families including herpesviruses (9), poxviruses (22) and hepatitis C virus (44) evade neutralizing antibody attack by direct cell-cell spread, since the tight junctions across which the these viruses move are antibody impermeable. It has been speculated that transfer of HIV-1 across VS may promote evasion from immune or therapeutic intervention with the inference that the junctions formed in retroviral VS may be nonpermissive to antibody entry (39). However, available evidence regarding whether neutralizing antibodies (NAb) and other entry inhibitors can inhibit HIV-1 cell-cell spread is inconsistent (25). An early analysis suggested that HIV-1 T-cell-T-cell spread is relatively resistant to neutralizing monoclonal antibodies (NMAb) (12). A later study agreed with this conclusion by demonstrating a lack of permissivity of HIV-1 T-cell-T-cell spread, measured by transfer of viral Gag, to interference with viral fusion using a gp41-specific NMAb and a peptidic fusion inhibitor (6). In contrast, another analysis reported that anti-gp41-specific NMAb interfered effectively with HIV-1 spread between T cells (26). Inhibitors of the HIV-1 surface glycoprotein (gp120)-CD4 or gp120-CXCR4 interaction reduced X4 HIV-1 VS assembly and viral transfer if applied prior to mixing of infected and receptor-expressing target cells (17, 19), but the effect of these inhibitors has not been tested on preformed VS. Thus, the field is currently unclear on whether direct T-cell-T-cell infectious HIV-1 spread is susceptible or not to antibody and entry inhibitor-mediated disruption of VS assembly, and the related question, whether the VS is permeable to viral entry inhibitors, including NAb. Addressing these questions is of central importance to understanding HIV-1 pathogenesis and informing future drug and vaccine design.Since estimates reported in the literature of the relative efficiency of direct HIV-1 T-cell-T-cell spread compared to cell-free spread vary by approximately 3 orders of magnitude (6, 38, 42), and the evidence for the activity of viral entry inhibitors on cell-cell spread is conflicting, we set out to quantify the efficiency of infection across the T-cell VS and analyze the susceptibility of this structure to NAb and viral entry inhibitors. Assays reporting on events proximal to productive infection show that the R5 HIV-1 T-cell VS is approximately 1 order of magnitude more efficient than cell-free virus infection, and imaging analyses reveal that the VS assembled by HIV-1 is most likely permeable to inhibitors both during, and subsequent to, VS assembly. Thus, we conclude that the T-cell VS does not provide a privileged environment allowing HIV-1 escape from entry inhibition.     

Alterations in the Immunogenic Properties of Soluble Trimeric Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Envelope Proteins Induced by Deletion or Heterologous Substitutions of the V1 Loop

HIV-1 gp140 envelope immunogens express conserved epitopes that are targeted by broadly cross-reactive neutralizing antibodies, but they fail to elicit similar antibodies upon immunization. The poor immunogenicity of conserved epitopes on gp140 could be linked to the high immunogenicity of variable Env regions on such constructs. Previous studies have shown that the first hypervariable region (V1 loop) is immunogenic on soluble gp140s but elicits type-specific antibodies. To address issues related to the high immunogenicity of the V1 loop, two conceptually opposite approaches were tested. In the first approach, we eliminated the V1 loop from our gp140 construct and examined how V1 deletion altered the immunogenic properties of other Env regions. In the second approach, we took advantage of the high immunogenicity of the V1 loop and engrafted four diverse V1 loops onto a common gp140 Env “scaffold.” These four scaffolds were used as a cocktail of immunogens to elicit diverse anti-V1 antibodies, under the hypothesis that eliciting diverse anti-V1 antibodies would expand the neutralizing breadth of immune sera. Our study indicates that three of four heterologous V1 loops were immunogenic on the common Env backbone “scaffold,” but heterologous anti-V1 neutralizing responses were observed in only one case. Both types of V1 modification dampened the immunogenicity of the V3 loop, differentially altered the immunogenicity of the transmembrane gp41 subunit, and altered the relative immunogenicities of unknown Env regions, including potentially the CD4-binding site (CD4-bs) and trimer-specific targets, which elicited cross-reactive neutralizing antibodies but of limited breadth.An effective vaccine against human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) will need to incorporate an envelope-derived immunogen capable of eliciting potent and broadly cross-reactive neutralizing antibody responses against diverse primary HIV-1 isolates. The target of anti-HIV neutralizing antibodies (NAbs), the viral envelope (Env) glycoprotein, is expressed as a single transmembrane polypeptide precursor (gp160) that is glycosylated and cleaved into an extracellular subunit (gp120) and a transmembrane subunit (gp41) during intracellular processing (10, 20, 21, 54). The functional Env form on virion surfaces is a trimer composed of three noncovalently associated gp120-gp41 heterodimers. Soluble forms of the trimeric Env have been generated by introducing stop codons immediately upstream of the transmembrane domain of gp41. These constructs are commonly referred to as gp140 proteins and have been tested extensively as immunogens to elicit anti-HIV-1 NAbs. Soluble gp140s express epitopes that are targets of NAbs, including cross-reactive NAbs such as b12, 4E10, and 2G12 (5, 17, 34, 45, 47, 49, 50, 52, 57). Immunization with gp140 immunogens nonetheless does not result in a broadly cross-reactive neutralizing antibody response (2, 3, 17, 18, 26, 56, 58).Epitope mapping analyses of the Abs elicited by soluble trimeric gp140 immunogens revealed that a large fraction of the gp140-induced neutralization response targets the first hypervariable region of gp120 (the V1 loop). In our hands, ∼40 to 70% of the neutralizing activity of sera from animals immunized with SF162 gp140 constructs is due to anti-V1 antibodies (17). In a study by Li et al. with YU2 gp140 (30) and a study by Wu et al. with HxB2/BaL gp145 (56), ∼10 to 80% of anti-YU2 neutralizing activity and 100% of anti-HxB2 neutralizing activity, respectively, were due to anti-V1 Abs. These anti-V1 Abs, however, are not cross-reactive. Previously, we also demonstrated that the diverse positionings of the V1 across heterologous strains limit access of broadly cross-reactive monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) to their targets (12).Here, taking into consideration the V1 loop''s high immunogenicity, we employed two opposing approaches aimed at the elicitation of cross-reactive neutralizing antibody responses to HIV-1. In the first approach, we deleted the V1 loop on our soluble trimeric gp140 construct (ΔV1SF162 gp140) and examined whether and how this modification altered the immunogenic properties of other Env regions. In the second approach, we substituted the V1 loop on our SF162 gp140 construct with the V1 loops from four heterologous HIV-1 viruses (89.6, YU2, JRFL, and HxB2) that differ in their amino acid compositions and in the number of potential N-linked glycosylation sites (PNGs). These four heterologous viruses display various neutralization phenotypes (7) and coreceptor utilization profiles (15, 35, 36, 48, 51). A total of four SF162 Env-based gp140 “scaffolds” expressing four different V1 loops were created and used as immunogens in a cocktail to test as a “proof of principle” the hypothesis that if diverse V1 loops are presented to the immune system simultaneously, the elicitation of anti-V1 NAbs with diverse specificities would broaden the overall neutralizing activity of immune sera. We also immunized animals with each of the four V1 chimeric scaffolds individually to ensure that all V1 loops were immunogenic when presented on the heterologous SF162 Env background.All immunogens (including wild-type [WT] SF162 gp140 and ΔV1SF162 gp140) elicited homologous anti-SF162 NAbs. All immunogens except the scaffold construct expressing the YU2 V1 also elicited heterologous NAbs against the sensitive lab-adapted strain HxB2. The heterologous YU2, 89.6, and HxB2 V1 loops, but not the JRFL V1 loop, were immunogenic on the background of the SF162 Env scaffold. However, only anti-V1 neutralizing activity against the HxB2 virus was observed. Although neither approach resulted in the development of broad anti-HIV-1 cross-neutralizing antibody responses, cross-neutralizing antibody responses of narrow breadth were elicited. These responses were not due to antibodies that target to variable regions of gp120 but were due to antibodies that target either epitopes of the CD4-binding site (CD4-bs) or epitopes that are not present on monomeric gp120. These observations have implications for guiding rational Env-based immunogen design and for potentially eliciting broadly cross-reactive NAb responses.     

Continuous viral escape and selection by autologous neutralizing antibodies in drug-naive human immunodeficiency virus controllers

We assessed differences in the character and specificity of autologous neutralizing antibodies (ANAbs) against individual viral variants of the quasispecies in a cohort of drug-naïve subjects with long-term controlled human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection and moderate levels of broad heterologous neutralizing antibodies (HNAb). Functional plasma virus showed continuous env evolution despite a short time frame and low levels of viral replication. Neutralization-sensitive variants dominated in subjects with intermittent viral blips, while neutralization-resistant variants predominated in elite controllers. By sequence analysis of this panel of autologous variants with various sensitivities to neutralization, we identified more than 30 residues in envelope proteins (Env) associated with resistance or sensitivity to ANAbs. The appearance of new sensitive variants is consistent with a model of continuous selection and turnover. Strong ANAb responses directed against autologous Env variants are present in long-term chronically infected individuals, suggesting a role for these responses in contributing to the durable control of HIV replication.Antibodies capable of neutralizing a subject''s own virus, called autologous neutralizing antibodies (ANAbs), have been the subject of recent studies redefining the timing and character of this response. ANAbs develop early in essentially all seropositive subjects and increase in titer during the first few months and years of infection (15, 30). Previously published data were obtained using an assay that measures ANAbs against the complete quasispecies without an analysis of the individual envelope protein (Env) sequences to which these ANAb responses were directed (10). The contemporaneous virus pool was poorly neutralized, leading to an assumption that contemporaneous ANAbs are ineffective in controlling viremia. In chronic infection, ANAbs generally have been difficult to detect (3, 29, 31, 40), but there is ample evidence for selection by NAb and resulting virus env evolution in the host (12, 30, 38). The titers of ANAbs measured against clinical or autologous isolates cultured in peripheral blood mononuclear cells typically have been low in chronic infection (31, 40), while other studies indicated the presence of strong ANAbs (2). Although ANAbs may be ineffective in subjects with high virus loads due to the continuous generation of escape variants, their role in maintaining low viral loads in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) controllers is not known.NAbs that recognize heterologous isolates to which the subject has never been exposed, called heterologous NAbs (HNAbs), are found later in infection, and not all subjects develop this broadening of the response (5). In studies that utilized easy-to-neutralize laboratory or primary viruses, titers of HNAbs can be high (5, 6, 26, 29). Early work had shown that polyclonal HNAbs in HIV-infected subjects are directed to conserved conformational determinants on gp120 (32), including the CD4-binding site (CD4bs) (22). Several human neutralizing monoclonal antibodies with broad activity also are directed to conserved conformational determinants on Env proteins, such as the CD4bs (4) and V3 (17). However, the mechanisms that lead to the development of broad HNAbs are unknown. Their development likely is dependent upon the specific autologous Env proteins to which the subject is exposed, and these proteins are variants of the original infection in these subjects, except for cases of superinfection. Thus, we reasoned that a detailed analysis of the neutralization of individual autologous variants in subjects with broad responses and viral control could be informative.The purpose of this study was to examine the autologous neutralizing responses against autologous viral variants in the plasma of HIV-positive subjects that were controlling infection for many years. These subjects have moderate HNAbs against the quasispecies of other subjects (27). We compared longitudinal samples from five chronically infected, antiretroviral treatment-naive adults late in infection. Despite the short time frame between the sample time points, the amount of env variation was surprisingly high, indicating continuous viral evolution in controllers; contemporaneous ANAbs were present and maintained in all except one elite controller. We cloned individual env gp160 plasma variants and analyzed sequence changes related to the autologous neutralization sensitivity or resistance. We systematically examined the ANAb response directed to individual variants using contemporaneous and noncontemporaneous plasma samples and observed patterns that have not been previously reported. Mutations that were significantly associated with sensitivity or resistance to ANAbs were found on parts of the envelope that are exposed and thus may be accessible to antibodies, consistently with a role in escape and containment by NAbs.     

Different In Vivo Effects of HIV-1 Immunodominant Epitope-Specific Cytotoxic T Lymphocytes on Selection of Escape Mutant Viruses

HIV-1 escape mutants are well known to be selected by immune pressure via HIV-1-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) and neutralizing antibodies. The ability of the CTLs to suppress HIV-1 replication is assumed to be associated with the selection of escape mutants from the CTLs. Therefore, we first investigated the correlation between the ability of HLA-A*1101-restricted CTLs recognizing immunodominant epitopes in vitro and the selection of escape mutants. The result showed that there was no correlation between the ability of these CTLs to suppress HIV-1 replication in vitro and the appearance of escape mutants. The CTLs that had a strong ability to suppress HIV-1 replication in vitro but failed to select escape mutants expressed a higher level of PD-1 in vivo, whereas those that had a strong ability to suppress HIV-1 replication in vitro and selected escape mutants expressed a low level of PD-1. Ex vivo analysis of these CTLs revealed that the latter CTLs had a significantly stronger ability to recognize the epitope than the former ones. These results suggest that escape mutations are selected by HIV-1-specific CTLs that have a stronger ability to recognize HIV-1 in vivo but not in vitro.HIV-1-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) have an important role in the control of HIV-1 replication during acute and chronic phases of an HIV-1 infection (5, 28, 33). On the other hand, HIV-1 can escape from the host immune system by various mechanisms. These may include the appearance of HIV-1 carrying escape mutations in its immunodominant CTL epitopes as well as Nef-mediated downregulation of HLA class I molecules. There is a growing body of evidence for the former mechanism, i.e., that CTLs targeting immunodominant HIV-1 epitopes select escape mutants in chronically HIV-1-infected individuals (18, 20, 36), whereas the latter mechanism was proved by demonstrating that HIV-1-specific CTLs fail to kill Nef-positive-HIV-1-infected CD4⁺ T cells but effectively kill Nef-defective-HIV-1-infected ones or that they suppress the replication of Nef-defective HIV-1 much more than that of Nef-positive HIV-1 (12, 13, 42, 45).It is speculated that HIV-1 immunodominant epitope-specific CTLs have the ability to suppress HIV-1 replication and effectively select escape mutants. However, the correlation between this ability of the CTLs and the appearance of escape mutants is still unclear, because it is not easy to evaluate the ability of HIV-1-specific CTLs to exert a strong immune pressure in vivo. To examine this ability, most previous studies measured the number of HIV-1-specific CTLs or CD8⁺ T cells and the CTL activity against target cells prepulsed with the epitope peptide or those infected with HIV-1 recombinant vaccinia virus (6, 7, 23, 46). However, the results obtained from such experiments do not reflect the ability of the CTLs to exert immune pressure in vivo. We and other groups previously utilized an assay to directly evaluate the ability of the CTLs to suppress HIV-1 replication in vitro (1, 17, 18, 42, 43). This assay may be better for evaluation of immune pressure by HIV-1-specific CTLs than other assays, because the ability of the CTLs to suppress HIV-1 replication is directly measured in cultures of HIV-1-infected CD4⁺ T cells incubated with HIV-1-specific CTL clones. But it still remains unknown whether this assay reflects immune pressure in vivo.In the present study, we investigated whether HIV-1-specific CTLs having a strong ability to suppress HIV-1 replication could positively select escape mutants. Since HLA-A*1101 is known to be an HLA allele relatively associated with a slow progression to AIDS (32), it is speculated that some HLA-A*1101-restricted CTLs would have a strong ability to suppress HIV-1 replication in vitro. Therefore, we first focused on 4 well-known HLA-A*1101-restricted CTL epitopes in the present study. We investigated the frequency of CTLs specific for these epitopes in chronically HIV-1-infected individuals, the ability of these CTLs to suppress HIV-1 replication in vitro, and whether the escape mutants were selected by the CTLs. Furthermore, we analyzed the expression of Programmed Death-1 (PD-1) on these CTLs ex vivo and antigen recognition of them.     

Virus Entry via the Alternative Coreceptors CCR3 and FPRL1 Differs by Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Subtype

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infects target cells by binding to CD4 and a chemokine receptor, most commonly CCR5. CXCR4 is a frequent alternative coreceptor (CoR) in subtype B and D HIV-1 infection, but the importance of many other alternative CoRs remains elusive. We have analyzed HIV-1 envelope (Env) proteins from 66 individuals infected with the major subtypes of HIV-1 to determine if virus entry into highly permissive NP-2 cell lines expressing most known alternative CoRs differed by HIV-1 subtype. We also performed linear regression analysis to determine if virus entry via the major CoR CCR5 correlated with use of any alternative CoR and if this correlation differed by subtype. Virus pseudotyped with subtype B Env showed robust entry via CCR3 that was highly correlated with CCR5 entry efficiency. By contrast, viruses pseudotyped with subtype A and C Env proteins were able to use the recently described alternative CoR FPRL1 more efficiently than CCR3, and use of FPRL1 was correlated with CCR5 entry. Subtype D Env was unable to use either CCR3 or FPRL1 efficiently, a unique pattern of alternative CoR use. These results suggest that each subtype of circulating HIV-1 may be subject to somewhat different selective pressures for Env-mediated entry into target cells and suggest that CCR3 may be used as a surrogate CoR by subtype B while FPRL1 may be used as a surrogate CoR by subtypes A and C. These data may provide insight into development of resistance to CCR5-targeted entry inhibitors and alternative entry pathways for each HIV-1 subtype.Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infects target cells by binding first to CD4 and then to a coreceptor (CoR), of which C-C chemokine receptor 5 (CCR5) is the most common (6, 53). CXCR4 is an additional CoR for up to 50% of subtype B and D HIV-1 isolates at very late stages of disease (4, 7, 28, 35). Many other seven-membrane-spanning G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) have been identified as alternative CoRs when expressed on various target cell lines in vitro, including CCR1 (76, 79), CCR2b (24), CCR3 (3, 5, 17, 32, 60), CCR8 (18, 34, 38), GPR1 (27, 65), GPR15/BOB (22), CXCR5 (39), CXCR6/Bonzo/STRL33/TYMSTR (9, 22, 25, 45, 46), APJ (26), CMKLR1/ChemR23 (49, 62), FPLR1 (67, 68), RDC1 (66), and D6 (55). HIV-2 and simian immunodeficiency virus SIVmac isolates more frequently show expanded use of these alternative CoRs than HIV-1 isolates (12, 30, 51, 74), and evidence that alternative CoRs other than CXCR4 mediate infection of primary target cells by HIV-1 isolates is sparse (18, 30, 53, 81). Genetic deficiency in CCR5 expression is highly protective against HIV-1 transmission (21, 36), establishing CCR5 as the primary CoR. The importance of alternative CoRs other than CXCR4 has remained elusive despite many studies (1, 30, 70, 81). Expansion of CoR use from CCR5 to include CXCR4 is frequently associated with the ability to use additional alternative CoRs for viral entry (8, 16, 20, 63, 79) in most but not all studies (29, 33, 40, 77, 78). This finding suggests that the sequence changes in HIV-1 env required for use of CXCR4 as an additional or alternative CoR (14, 15, 31, 37, 41, 57) are likely to increase the potential to use other alternative CoRs.We have used the highly permissive NP-2/CD4 human glioma cell line developed by Soda et al. (69) to classify virus entry via the alternative CoRs CCR1, CCR3, CCR8, GPR1, CXCR6, APJ, CMKLR1/ChemR23, FPRL1, and CXCR4. Full-length molecular clones of 66 env genes from most prevalent HIV-1 subtypes were used to generate infectious virus pseudotypes expressing a luciferase reporter construct (19, 57). Two types of analysis were performed: the level of virus entry mediated by each alternative CoR and linear regression of entry mediated by CCR5 versus all other alternative CoRs. We thus were able to identify patterns of alternative CoR use that were subtype specific and to determine if use of any alternative CoR was correlated or independent of CCR5-mediated entry. The results obtained have implications for the evolution of env function, and the analyses revealed important differences between subtype B Env function and all other HIV-1 subtypes.     

Antibody Specificities Associated with Neutralization Breadth in Plasma from Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Subtype C-Infected Blood Donors

Defining the specificities of the anti-human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) envelope antibodies able to mediate broad heterologous neutralization will assist in identifying targets for an HIV-1 vaccine. We screened 70 plasmas from chronically HIV-1-infected individuals for neutralization breadth. Of these, 16 (23%) were found to neutralize 80% or more of the viruses tested. Anti-CD4 binding site (CD4bs) antibodies were found in almost all plasmas independent of their neutralization breadth, but they mainly mediated neutralization of the laboratory strain HxB2 with little effect on the primary virus, Du151. Adsorption with Du151 monomeric gp120 reduced neutralizing activity to some extent in most plasma samples when tested against the matched virus, although these antibodies did not always confer cross-neutralization. For one plasma, this activity was mapped to a site overlapping the CD4-induced (CD4i) epitope and CD4bs. Anti-membrane-proximal external region (MPER) (r = 0.69; P < 0.001) and anti-CD4i (r = 0.49; P < 0.001) antibody titers were found to be correlated with the neutralization breadth. These anti-MPER antibodies were not 4E10- or 2F5-like but spanned the 4E10 epitope. Furthermore, we found that anti-cardiolipin antibodies were correlated with the neutralization breadth (r = 0.67; P < 0.001) and anti-MPER antibodies (r = 0.6; P < 0.001). Our study suggests that more than one epitope on the envelope glycoprotein is involved in the cross-reactive neutralization elicited during natural HIV-1 infection, many of which are yet to be determined, and that polyreactive antibodies are possibly involved in this phenomenon.The generation of an antibody response capable of neutralizing a broad range of viruses remains an important goal of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) vaccine development. Despite multiple efforts in the design of immunogens capable of inducing such humoral responses, little progress has been made (18, 20, 39). The sequence variability of the virus, as well as masking mechanisms exhibited by the envelope glycoprotein, has further hindered this pursuit (6, 22). It is known that while the majority of HIV-infected individuals mount a strong neutralization response against their own virus within the first 6 to 12 months of infection, breadth is observed in only a few individuals years later (5, 10, 15, 26, 33, 40, 41). However, very little is known about the specificities of the antibodies that confer this broad cross-neutralization. It is plausible that broadly cross-neutralizing (BCN) plasmas contain antibodies that target conserved regions of the envelope glycoprotein, as exemplified by a number of well-characterized broadly neutralizing monoclonal antibodies (MAbs). The b12 MAb recognizes the CD4 binding site (CD4bs), and 2G12 binds to surface glycans (7, 42, 44, 56). The 447-52D MAb recognizes the V3 loop, and 17b, E51, and 412d bind to CD4-induced (CD4i) epitopes that form part of the coreceptor binding site (13, 21, 51, 54). Finally, the MAbs 2F5, 4E10, and Z13e1 recognize distinct linear sequences in the gp41 membrane-proximal external region (MPER) (36, 57). The targets of these neutralizing MAbs provide a rational starting point for examining the complex nature of polyclonal plasma samples.Several groups have addressed the need to develop methodologies to elucidate the presence of certain neutralizing-antibody specificities (1, 8, 9, 29, 30, 43, 55). A number of these studies reported that the BCN antibodies in plasma can in some cases be adsorbed using gp120 immobilized on beads (1, 9, 29, 30, 43). Furthermore, the activities of some of these anti-gp120 neutralizing antibodies could be mapped to the CD4bs, as the D368R mutant gp120 failed to adsorb them (1, 29, 30, 43).Antibodies to CD4i epitopes are frequently found in HIV-1-infected individuals and are thought to primarily target the coreceptor binding site, which includes the bridging sheet and possibly parts of the V3 region. Decker and colleagues (8) showed that MAbs to HIV-1 CD4i epitopes can neutralize HIV-2 when pretreated with soluble CD4 (sCD4), indicating that the CD4i epitope is highly conserved among different HIV lineages. The poor accessibility of CD4i epitopes, however, has precluded this site from being a major neutralizing-antibody target (24), although a recent study suggested that some of the cross-neutralizing activity in polyclonal sera mapped to a CD4i epitope (30).Another site that has attracted considerable attention as a target for cross-neutralizing antibodies is the MPER, a linear stretch of 34 amino acids in gp41. Anti-MPER antibodies have been detected in the plasma of HIV-infected individuals by using chimeric viruses with HIV-1 MPER grafted into a simian immunodeficiency virus or an HIV-2 envelope glycoprotein (15, 55). These studies concluded that 2F5- and 4E10-like antibodies were rarely found in HIV-1-infected plasmas; however, other specificities within the MPER were recognized by around one-third of HIV-1-infected individuals (15). More recently, 4E10-like and 2F5-like antibodies (30, 43), as well as antibodies to novel epitopes within the MPER (1), have been shown to be responsible for neutralization breadth in a small number of plasma samples. The anti-MPER MAb 4E10 has been shown to react to autoantigens, leading to the suggestion that their rarity in human infection is due to the selective deletion of B cells with these specificities (17, 35). Furthermore, a recent study found an association between anti-MPER and anti-cardiolipin (CL) antibodies, although an association with neutralization was not examined (31).A recent study by Binley and coworkers used an array of methodologies to determine the antibody specificities present in subtype B and subtype C plasma samples with neutralization breadth (1). While antibodies to gp120, some of which mapped to the CD4bs, and to MPER were identified, most of the neutralizing activity in the BCN plasma could not be attributed to any of the known conserved envelope epitopes. Furthermore, it is not clear how common these specificities are among HIV-1-positive plasmas and whether they are only associated with BCN activity.In this study, we investigated a large collection of HIV-1-infected plasmas obtained from the South African National Blood Services. We aimed to determine if there is a relationship between the presence of certain antibody specificities, such as those against CD4i epitopes, MPER, or the CD4bs, and the neutralizing activities present in these plasmas. Furthermore, we evaluated the presence of various autoreactive antibodies and analyzed whether they might be associated with neutralization breadth.     

Fluidity of HIV-1-Specific T-Cell Responses during Acute and Early Subtype C HIV-1 Infection and Associations with Early Disease Progression

Deciphering immune events during early stages of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection is critical for understanding the course of disease. We characterized the hierarchy of HIV-1-specific T-cell gamma interferon (IFN-γ) enzyme-linked immunospot (ELISPOT) assay responses during acute subtype C infection in 53 individuals and associated temporal patterns of responses with disease progression in the first 12 months. There was a diverse pattern of T-cell recognition across the proteome, with the recognition of Nef being immunodominant as early as 3 weeks postinfection. Over the first 6 months, we found that there was a 23% chance of an increased response to Nef for every week postinfection (P = 0.0024), followed by a nonsignificant increase to Pol (4.6%) and Gag (3.2%). Responses to Env and regulatory proteins appeared to remain stable. Three temporal patterns of HIV-specific T-cell responses could be distinguished: persistent, lost, or new. The proportion of persistent T-cell responses was significantly lower (P = 0.0037) in individuals defined as rapid progressors than in those progressing slowly and who controlled viremia. Almost 90% of lost T-cell responses were coincidental with autologous viral epitope escape. Regression analysis between the time to fixed viral escape and lost T-cell responses (r = 0.61; P = 0.019) showed a mean delay of 14 weeks after viral escape. Collectively, T-cell epitope recognition is not a static event, and temporal patterns of IFN-γ-based responses exist. This is due partly to viral sequence variation but also to the recognition of invariant viral epitopes that leads to waves of persistent T-cell immunity, which appears to associate with slower disease progression in the first year of infection.For more than a decade, there has been a wealth of evidence to show that human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-specific cytotoxic T-cell (CTL) responses play a role in the control of HIV-1 and simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) infection. In humans, the first appearance of CTL in primary HIV-1 infection coincides with the decline of peak viremia (7, 27), while depletion of CD8⁺ T cells in SIV infection resulted in elevated viremia (45). Additionally, polymorphisms in HLA class I-restricted CTL responses are associated with differential HIV-1 disease outcomes (25), and the emergence of viral escape within CTL epitopes during acute and chronic SIV or HIV-1 infection demonstrates the effectiveness of CD8⁺ T cells to exert viral selection pressure (21). Dissecting the specificity of HIV-1-specific CD8⁺ T-cell responses that associate with the control of viral replication during acute/early infection is thought to be critical for the design of vaccines and potential immunotherapeutic strategies aimed at stimulating these responses.Preferential targeting of class I-restricted CTL epitopes in Gag during early and chronic HIV-1 infection has been associated with lower viral loads (15, 25, 34, 48, 55), whereas Env- and Nef-specific CD8⁺ T-cell responses have been associated with higher viremia (15, 34, 55). Increasing evidence suggests that patterns of immunodominant HIV-specific CD8⁺ T-cell responses restricted by specific HLA alleles are major determinants of the viral set point (47). In addition, Goonetilleke et al. (17) have provided insight into the rapidity of early escape and the contribution of the first HIV-specific CD8⁺ T-cell responses to the transmitted/founder virus in control of acute viremia. The restriction of CTL epitopes by HLA-B*5801, for example, has also been associated with better viral control (16, 24). However, the temporal nature of epitope-specific responses that associate with viral control has not been explored. Recently, we found no association between the magnitude and breadth of gamma interferon (IFN-γ) enzyme-linked immunospot (ELISPOT) assay responses at a static 3-month time point with the viral set point at 12 months (22). The unpredictability of early T-cell responses with later viral control could be a result of HIV variability resulting in epitope escape from humoral and T-cell pressure (1, 8). For example, the impact of CTL pressure on shaping viral diversity at a human population level has been observed through HLA imprinting (6, 9, 44), and several studies have shown that certain selected escape mutations can compromise viral fitness (10, 29, 33, 39). Other studies have also demonstrated that the selection of escape variants in chronic HIV-1 and SIV infection can result in the loss of immune control and disease progression (3, 20). Assessing the nature of T-cell responses longitudinally and relating the patterns of contemporaneous viral recognition with viral diversity may represent alternative insights into factors associated with set point and disease progression.As the global AIDS epidemic continues to expand in sub-Saharan Africa, and South Africa in particular, the need to implement a preventive vaccine through the public health sector remains paramount. To date, several prototype antibody and T-cell-based candidate vaccine trials have been completed worldwide (37), and the recent failure of a phase IIb Ad5-Gag-Pol-Nef HIV-1 vaccine trial has emphasized the challenge of producing an effective T-cell-based vaccine against HIV. Data from the recent ALVAC and AIDSVAX (RV144) trials in Thailand have provided modest efficacy of a vaccine regimen in reducing HIV infection (42), and while the immune mechanisms for this are as yet unclear, these findings have created a platform for identifying immune responses that correlate with protection.The identification of the earliest targets of T cells during acute HIV-1 infection would be helpful in understanding the evolution of immunity when a host first encounters the virus and also would provide insight into the host-pathogen interplay when there is a rapidly changing target. We describe some of the earliest T-cell responses that occur during acute subtype C HIV-1 infection, how these change over time and associate with early disease progression, as well as the kinetics of these changes in relation to autologous viral escape.     

Envelope-Modified Single-Cycle Simian Immunodeficiency Virus Selectively Enhances Antibody Responses and Partially Protects against Repeated,Low-Dose Vaginal Challenge

Immunization of rhesus macaques with strains of simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) that are limited to a single cycle of infection elicits T-cell responses to multiple viral gene products and antibodies capable of neutralizing lab-adapted SIV, but not neutralization-resistant primary isolates of SIV. In an effort to improve upon the antibody responses, we immunized rhesus macaques with three strains of single-cycle SIV (scSIV) that express envelope glycoproteins modified to lack structural features thought to interfere with the development of neutralizing antibodies. These envelope-modified strains of scSIV lacked either five potential N-linked glycosylation sites in gp120, three potential N-linked glycosylation sites in gp41, or 100 amino acids in the V1V2 region of gp120. Three doses consisting of a mixture of the three envelope-modified strains of scSIV were administered on weeks 0, 6, and 12, followed by two booster inoculations with vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) G trans-complemented scSIV on weeks 18 and 24. Although this immunization regimen did not elicit antibodies capable of detectably neutralizing SIV_mac239 or SIV_mac251_UCD, neutralizing antibody titers to the envelope-modified strains were selectively enhanced. Virus-specific antibodies and T cells were observed in the vaginal mucosa. After 20 weeks of repeated, low-dose vaginal challenge with SIV_mac251_UCD, six of eight immunized animals versus six of six naïve controls became infected. Although immunization did not significantly reduce the likelihood of acquiring immunodeficiency virus infection, statistically significant reductions in peak and set point viral loads were observed in the immunized animals relative to the naïve control animals.Development of a safe and effective vaccine for human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) is an urgent public health priority, but remains a formidable scientific challenge. Passive transfer experiments in macaques demonstrate neutralizing antibodies can prevent infection by laboratory-engineered simian-human immunodeficiency virus (SHIV) strains (6, 33, 34, 53, 59). However, no current vaccine approach is capable of eliciting antibodies that neutralize primary isolates with neutralization-resistant envelope glycoproteins. Virus-specific T-cell responses can be elicited by prime-boost strategies utilizing recombinant DNA and/or viral vectors (3, 10, 11, 16, 36, 73, 77, 78), which confer containment of viral loads following challenge with SHIV_89.6P (3, 13, 66, 68). Unfortunately, similar vaccine regimens are much less effective against SIV_mac239 and SIV_mac251 (12, 16, 31, 36, 73), which bear closer resemblance to most transmitted HIV-1 isolates in their inability to utilize CXCR4 as a coreceptor (18, 23, 24, 88) and inherent high degree of resistance to neutralization by antibodies or soluble CD4 (43, 55, 56). Live, attenuated SIV can provide apparent sterile protection against challenge with SIV_mac239 and SIV_mac251 or at least contain viral replication below the limit of detection (20, 22, 80). Due to the potential of the attenuated viruses themselves to cause disease in neonatal rhesus macaques (5, 7, 81) and to revert to a pathogenic phenotype through the accumulation of mutations over prolonged periods of replication in adult animals (2, 35, 76), attenuated HIV-1 is not under consideration for use in humans.As an experimental vaccine approach designed to retain many of the features of live, attenuated SIV, without the risk of reversion to a pathogenic phenotype, we and others devised genetic approaches for producing strains of SIV that are limited to a single cycle of infection (27, 28, 30, 38, 39, 45). In a previous study, immunization of rhesus macaques with single-cycle SIV (scSIV) trans-complemented with vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) G elicited potent virus-specific T-cell responses (39), which were comparable in magnitude to T-cell responses elicited by optimized prime-boost regimens based on recombinant DNA and viral vectors (3, 16, 36, 68, 73, 78). Antibodies were elicited that neutralized lab-adapted SIV_mac251_LA (39). However, despite the presentation of the native, trimeric SIV envelope glycoprotein (Env) on the surface of infected cells and virions, none of the scSIV-immunized macaques developed antibody responses that neutralized SIV_mac239 (39). Therefore, we have now introduced Env modifications into scSIV that facilitate the development of neutralizing antibodies.Most primate lentiviral envelope glycoproteins are inherently resistant to neutralizing antibodies due to structural and thermodynamic properties that have evolved to enable persistent replication in the face of vigorous antibody responses (17, 46, 47, 64, 71, 75, 79, 83, 85). Among these, extensive N-linked glycosylation renders much of the Env surface inaccessible to antibodies (17, 48, 60, 63, 75). Removal of N-linked glycans from gp120 or gp41 by mutagenesis facilitates the induction of antibodies to epitopes that are occluded by these carbohydrates in the wild-type virus (64, 85). Consequently, antibodies from animals infected with glycan-deficient strains neutralize these strains better than antibodies from animals infected with the fully glycosylated SIV_mac239 parental strain (64, 85). Most importantly with regard to immunogen design, animals infected with the glycan-deficient strains developed higher neutralizing antibody titers against wild-type SIV_mac239 (64, 85). Additionally, the removal of a single N-linked glycan in gp120 enhanced the induction of neutralizing antibodies against SHIV_89.6P and SHIV_SF162 in a prime-boost strategy by 20-fold (50). These observations suggest that potential neutralization determinants accessible in the wild-type Env are poorly immunogenic unless specific N-linked glycans in gp120 and gp41 are eliminated by mutagenesis.The variable loop regions 1 and 2 (V1V2) of HIV-1 and SIV gp120 may also interfere with the development of neutralizing antibodies. Deletion of V1V2 from HIV-1 gp120 permitted neutralizing monoclonal antibodies to CD4-inducible epitopes to bind to gp120 in the absence of CD4, suggesting that V1V2 occludes potential neutralization determinants prior to the engagement of CD4 (82). A deletion in V2 of HIV-1 Env-exposed epitopes was conserved between clades (69), improved the ability of a secreted Env trimer to elicit neutralizing antibodies (9), and was present in a vaccine that conferred complete protection against SHIV_SF162P4 (8). A deletion of 100 amino acids in V1V2 of SIV_mac239 rendered the virus sensitive to monoclonal antibodies with various specificities (41). Furthermore, three of five macaques experimentally infected with SIV_mac239 with V1V2 deleted resisted superinfection with wild-type SIV_mac239 (51). Thus, occlusion of potential neutralization determinants by the V1V2 loop structure may contribute to the poor immunogenicity of the wild-type envelope glycoprotein.Here we tested the hypothesis that antibody responses to scSIV could be improved by immunizing macaques with strains of scSIV engineered to eliminate structural features that interfere with the development of neutralizing antibodies. Antibodies to Env-modified strains were selectively enhanced, but these did not neutralize the wild-type SIV strains. We then tested the hypothesis that immunization might prevent infection in a repeated, low-dose vaginal challenge model of heterosexual HIV-1 transmission. Indeed, while all six naïve control animals became infected, two of eight immunized animals remained uninfected after 20 weeks of repeated vaginal challenge. Relative to the naïve control group, reductions in peak and set point viral loads were statistically significant in the immunized animals that became infected.     

Dendritic Cells Loaded with Tumor B Cells Elicit Broad Immunity against Murine Gammaherpesvirus 68 but Fail To Prevent Long-Term Latency

It is still unknown whether a noninfectious gammaherpesvirus vaccine is able to prevent or reduce virus persistence. This led us to use dendritic cells loaded with tumor B cells as a vaccine approach for the murine gammaherpesvirus 68 (γHV68) model of infection. Dendritic cells loaded with UV-irradiated latently infected tumor B cells induce broad, strong, and long-lasting immunity against γHV68. Dendritic cell vaccination prevents the enlargement of lymph nodes and severely limits acute infection and early latency but does not prevent γHV68 from establishing long-term latency. Our findings support the concept that attenuated viruses may be the best vaccine option for preventing gammaherpesvirus persistence.Gammaherpesviruses have very high prevalence, infecting 95% of the world population. Natural infection does not induce sterilizing immunity (21, 30). Murine gammaherpesvirus 68 (γHV68) has important biological similarities to its human counterparts and is a good model for characterizing the immune response and for testing vaccine strategies (11, 33). Gammaherpesvirus vaccines designed to induce neutralizing antibodies reduce the incidence and symptoms of infectious mononucleosis (26) but are only minimally protective (1, 7, 22, 28). Peptide- or epitope-based vaccines that induce T-cell responses affect the early phase of infection but do not alter long-term latency (9, 17, 19, 29, 32). Infection with latency-attenuated viruses induces protection against a challenge with wild-type γHV68, although the vaccine virus persists in the host (6, 25, 30) except in the case of γHV68 AC-RTA (16). These findings with live-attenuated viruses reflect the ability of latency-defective viruses to elicit a wide range of humoral and cell-mediated immune responses and suggest that optimal broad immunity may achieve protection. Dendritic cells (DC) are at the core of the immune response, and they are also the main target of adjuvants. Ex vivo-loaded dendritic cells can induce humoral immunity and strong T-cell immunity (3) and accelerated generation of memory T cells (2). Dendritic cells loaded with multiple antigens could circumvent the narrow antigen specificity of peptide- or epitope-based vaccines and lack the safety concerns associated with live-attenuated herpesviruses. Thus, dendritic cell vaccination can be attractive where other approaches have failed or as a tool for elucidating mechanisms of immune protection. Here, we wanted to test whether dendritic cells loaded ex vivo with a broad range of viral antigens would ameliorate disease and confer protection to gammaherpesvirus infection by inducing strong and broad cellular and humoral immunity.     

Protective HLA Class I Alleles That Restrict Acute-Phase CD8+ T-Cell Responses Are Associated with Viral Escape Mutations Located in Highly Conserved Regions of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1

The control of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) associated with particular HLA class I alleles suggests that some CD8⁺ T-cell responses may be more effective than others at containing HIV-1. Unfortunately, substantial diversities in the breadth, magnitude, and function of these responses have impaired our ability to identify responses most critical to this control. It has been proposed that CD8 responses targeting conserved regions of the virus may be particularly effective, since the development of cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) escape mutations in these regions may significantly impair viral replication. To address this hypothesis at the population level, we derived near-full-length viral genomes from 98 chronically infected individuals and identified a total of 76 HLA class I-associated mutations across the genome, reflective of CD8 responses capable of selecting for sequence evolution. The majority of HLA-associated mutations were found in p24 Gag, Pol, and Nef. Reversion of HLA-associated mutations in the absence of the selecting HLA allele was also commonly observed, suggesting an impact of most CTL escape mutations on viral replication. Although no correlations were observed between the number or location of HLA-associated mutations and protective HLA alleles, limiting the analysis to mutations selected by acute-phase immunodominant responses revealed a strong positive correlation between mutations at conserved residues and protective HLA alleles. These data suggest that control of HIV-1 may be associated with acute-phase CD8 responses capable of selecting for viral escape mutations in highly conserved regions of the virus, supporting the inclusion of these regions in the design of an effective vaccine.Despite substantial advances in antiretroviral therapies, development of an effective human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) vaccine remains a critical goal (6, 39, 82). Unfortunately, current vaccine efforts have failed to reduce infection rates in humans (9, 75) and have only achieved modest decreases in viral loads in the simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV)/SHIV macaque model (21, 44, 81). A majority of these vaccine approaches have focused on inducing T-cell responses, utilizing large regions of the virus in an attempt to induce a broad array of immune responses (6, 34, 44, 81). While it is well established that CD8⁺ T-cell responses play a critical role in the containment of HIV-1 (45, 49, 67), supported in part by the strong association of particular HLA class I alleles with control of HIV (20, 33, 42, 61), it remains unclear which particular CD8⁺ T-cell responses are best able to control the virus and thus should be preferentially targeted by a vaccine. Studies comparing the magnitude, breadth, and function of CD8⁺ T-cell responses in subjects exhibiting either enhanced or poor control of HIV-1 have yielded few clues as to the specific factors associated with an effective CD8⁺ T-cell response (2, 28, 64, 67). Various differences in the functional capacity of T-cell responses have been observed in long-term nonprogressors (1, 26, 64), although it is possible that these differences may be reflective of an intact immune response, as opposed to having had directly enhanced immune control. As such, efforts are needed to identify factors or phenotypes associated with protective CD8⁺ T-cell responses in order to enable vaccines to induce the most effective responses.Recent studies have begun to suggest that the specificity of the CD8⁺ T-cell response, or the targeting of specific regions of the virus, may be associated with control of HIV-1. Preferential targeting of Gag, a structurally conserved viral protein responsible for multiple functions, has been associated with lower viral loads (25, 43, 56, 60, 77, 85). Furthermore, Kiepiela et al. (43) recently illustrated in a large cohort of 578 clade C-infected subjects that Gag-specific responses were associated with lowered viremia, in contrast to Env-specific responses, which were associated with higher viremia. These data are in line with previous observations that many of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I alleles most strongly associated with control of HIV-1 and SIV, namely, HLA-B57, HLA-B27, and Mamu-A*01, restrict immunodominant CD8⁺ T-cell responses against the Gag protein (8, 10, 24, 63, 68, 83). However, other alleles associated with slower disease progression, such as HLA-B51 in humans and Mamu-B08 and B-17 in the rhesus macaque, do not immunodominantly target Gag, suggesting that targeting of some other regions of the virus may also be capable of eliciting control (8, 52-54). In addition, recent studies investigating the pattern of HIV-1-specific CD8⁺ T-cell responses during acute infection reveal that only a small subset of CD8⁺ T-cell responses restricted by any given HLA allele arise during acute infection and that there exist clear immunodominance patterns to these responses (8, 77, 85). Since control of HIV-1 is likely to be established or lost during the first few weeks of infection, these data suggest that potentially only a few key CD8⁺ T-cell responses may be needed to adequately establish early control of HIV-1.One of the major factors limiting the effectiveness of CD8⁺ T-cell responses is the propensity for HIV-1 to evade these responses through sequence evolution or viral escape (3, 13, 66). Even single point mutations within a targeted CD8 epitope can effectively abrogate recognition by either the HLA allele or the T-cell receptor. However, recent studies have begun to highlight that many sequence polymorphisms will revert to more common consensus residues upon transmission of HIV-1 to a new host, including many cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) escape mutations (4, 30, 33, 48, 50). Notably, the more rapidly reverting mutations have been observed to preferentially occur at conserved residues, indicating that structurally conserved regions of the virus may be particularly refractory to sequence changes (50). In support of these data, many CTL escape mutations have now been observed to directly impair viral replication (15, 23, 55, 74), in particular those known to either revert or require the presence of secondary compensatory mutations (15, 23, 73, 74). Taken together, these data suggest that, whereas CTL escape mutations provide a benefit to the virus to enable the evasion of host immune pressures, some of these mutations may come at a substantial cost to viral replication. These data may also imply that the association between Gag-specific responses and control of HIV-1 may be due to the targeting of highly conserved regions of the virus that are difficult to evade through sequence evolution.The propensity by which HIV-1 escapes CD8⁺ T-cell responses, and the reproducibility by which mutations arise at precise residues in targeted CD8 epitopes (3, 48), also enables the utilization of sequence data to predict which responses may be most capable of exerting immune selection pressure on the virus. Studies in HIV-1, SIV, and hepatitis C virus (16, 58, 65, 78) are now rapidly identifying immune-driven CTL escape mutations across these highly variable pathogens at the population level by correlating sequence polymorphisms in these viruses with the expression of particular HLA alleles. We provide here an analysis of HLA-associated mutations across the entire HIV-1 genome using a set of sequences derived from clade B chronically infected individuals. Through full-length viral genome coverage, these data provide an unbiased analysis of the location of these mutations and suggest that the control of HIV-1 by particular HLA alleles correlates with their ability to preferentially restrict early CD8⁺ T-cell responses capable of selecting for viral escape mutations at highly conserved residues of the virus. These data provide support for the inclusion of specific highly conserved regions of HIV-1 into vaccine antigens.