Download MendeleyEnhanced B cell priming induces broadly neutralizing HIV-1 apex antibodies.
Marchitto, L., Wagh, K., Roark, R.S., Coleon, S., Li, H., Skelly, A.N., Hogarty, M.P., Habib, R., Ding, W., Ayyanathan, K., Liu, W., Sheng, Z., Guo, Y., Bal, J., Smith, L.M., Sutherland, L.L., Park, Y., Connell, A.J., Bibollet-Ruche, F., Lewis, E., Plante, S.J., Akeley, M.J., Lora, J., Zhao, C., Carey, J.W., Martella, C.L., Li, Y., Campion, M.S., Lituchy, M.G., Osbaldeston, R.A., Gordon, C.G., Albertus, A., Su, J., Noguchi, C., Tam, Y.K., Barbosa, C., Liang, B., Amereh, K., Li, X., Walsh, A.A., Irvine, D.J., Andrabi, R., Edwards, R.J., Kreider, E.F., Weissman, D., Shapiro, L., Kwong, P.D., Korber, B.T., Haynes, B.F., Saunders, K.O., Hahn, B.H., Shaw, G.M.(2026) Nature 656: 712-722
- PubMed: 42380659 Search on PubMedSearch on PubMed Central
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-10838-4
- Primary Citation Related Structures:
9ZRX, 9ZRY, 9ZRZ - PubMed Abstract:
Efficient priming of B cell precursors is a rate-limiting step in the induction of V2 apex broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs) 1,2 . Here we describe a germline-targeted HIV-1 Env (CAP256.OPT4) that increases the efficiency of V2 apex bnAb precursor priming by 30-400-fold compared with wild-type HIV-1 Envs and induces, in over 90% of macaques, neutralization breadth that includes Asn130-containing viruses. Using three different delivery platforms-persistently replicating simian human immunodeficiency viruses (SHIVs), protein nanoparticles and mRNA-we show bnAb priming as early as 4 weeks after infection or immunization, and neutralization breadth in the plasma by 12 weeks. In 14 SHIV-infected macaques, neutralization breadth reached as high as 90% on a 21-virus panel with potency as great as 1:20,000 (50% inhibitory dilution). Monoclonal bnAbs isolated from these animals were similarly broad and potent, with cryo-EM structures representing three distinct lineages revealing canonical needle-like HCDR3 binding. Env-Ab coevolution and structural analyses identified five key residues and loop features under positive selection and temporally associated with neutralization breadth. Importantly, prime-boost immunogens designed to capture these features induced broad and potent neutralization of globally diverse viruses including those containing Asn130 glycan. Furthermore, rhesus bnAbs were not restricted to IGHD3-15*01 heavy-chain alleles. These results expand the use of the rhesus model for HIV-1 vaccine design and provide a molecular blueprint for inducing V2 apex bnAbs in rhesus and humans.
- Departments of Medicine and Microbiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Organizational Affiliation:
