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NPJ Vaccines 2021 Apr 15;6(1):56. Epub 2021 Apr 15.

Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Durham, NC, USA.

We studied mucosal immune responses in six HIV-1 vaccine trials investigating different envelope (Env)-containing immunogens. Regimens were classified into four categories: DNA/vector, DNA/vector plus protein, protein alone, and vector alone. We measured HIV-1-specific IgG and IgA in secretions from cervical (n = 111) and rectal swabs (n = 154), saliva (n = 141), and seminal plasma (n = 124) and compared to corresponding blood levels. Read More

PLoS One 2021 15;16(4):e0248903. Epub 2021 Apr 15.

Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America.

Following curative immunotherapy of B16F10 tumors, ~60% of mice develop a strong antibody response against cell-surface tumor antigens. Their antisera confer prophylactic protection against intravenous challenge with B16F10 cells, and also cross-react with syngeneic and allogeneic tumor cell lines MC38, EL.4, 4T1, and CT26. Read More

Cell Rep 2021 Apr;35(1):108937

Vaccine Research Center, National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA. Electronic address:

Soluble "SOSIP"-stabilized envelope (Env) trimers are promising HIV-vaccine immunogens. However, they induce high-titer responses against the glycan-free trimer base, which is occluded on native virions. To delineate the effect on base responses of priming with immunogens targeting the fusion peptide (FP) site of vulnerability, here, we quantify the prevalence of trimer-base antibody responses in 49 non-human primates immunized with various SOSIP-stabilized Env trimers and FP-carrier conjugates. Read More

Cell Rep 2021 Apr;35(1):108933

Department of Medical Microbiology, Amsterdam Infection and Immunity Institute, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam 1105 AZ, the Netherlands; Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Weill Cornell Medical College, Cornell University, New York, NY, USA. Electronic address:

Artificial glycan holes on recombinant Env-based vaccines occur when a potential N-linked glycosylation site (PNGS) is under-occupied, but not on their viral counterparts. Native-like SOSIP trimers, including clinical candidates, contain such holes in the glycan shield that induce strain-specific neutralizing antibodies (NAbs) or non-NAbs. To eliminate glycan holes and mimic the glycosylation of native BG505 Env, we replace all 12 NxS sequons on BG505 SOSIP with NxT. Read More

Vaccines (Basel) 2021 Mar 10;9(3). Epub 2021 Mar 10.

Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia.

An optimal prophylactic vaccine to prevent human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1) transmission should elicit protective antibody responses against the HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein (Env). Replication-incompetent HIV-1 virus-like particles (VLPs) offer the opportunity to present virion-associated Env with a native-like structure during vaccination that closely resembles that encountered on infectious virus. Here, we optimized the incorporation of Env into previously designed mature-form VLPs (mVLPs) and assessed their immunogenicity in mice. Read More