1
|
Lai JI, Eszterhas SK, Brooks SA, Guo C, Zolla-Pazner S, Seaman MS, Bailey-Kellogg C, Griswold KE, Ackerman ME. Induction of cross-reactive HIV-1 specific antibody responses by engineered V1V2 immunogens with reduced conformational plasticity. Vaccine 2020; 38:3436-3446. [PMID: 32192810 PMCID: PMC7132531 DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2020.03.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2020] [Revised: 02/26/2020] [Accepted: 03/03/2020] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
Antibodies against the HIV-1 V1V2 loops were the only correlate of reduced infection risk in the RV144 vaccine trial, highlighting the V1V2 loops as promising targets for vaccine design. The V1V2 loops are structurally plastic, exhibiting either an α-helix-coil or β-strand conformation. V1V2-specific antibodies may thus recognize distinct conformations, and an antibody's conformational specificity can be an important determinant of breadth and function. Restricting V1V2 conformational plasticity in an immunogen may thus provide control over the conformational specificity and quality of a vaccine-elicited antibody response. Previously, we identified a V1V2 sequence variant (K155M) that results in enhanced recognition by cross-reactive antibodies recognizing the β-strand conformation. Here, we relate V1V2 antigenicity to immunogenicity by comparing the immunogenicity profiles of wildtype and K155M immunogens in two mouse models. In one model, immunization with gp70 V1V2 K155M but not wildtype elicited antibody responses that were cross-reactive to a panel of heterologous gp120 and gp140 antigens. In a second model, we compared the effect of K155M on immunogenicity in the context of gp70 V1V2, gD V1V2 and gp120, examining the effects of scaffold, epitope-focusing and immunization regimen. K155M variants, especially in the context of a gp120 immunogen, resulted in more robust, durable and cross-reactive antibody responses than wildtype immunogens. Restriction of the β-stranded V1V2 conformation in K155M immunogens may thus be associated with the induction of cross-reactive antibody responses thought to be required of a protective HIV-1 vaccine.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer I Lai
- Thayer School of Engineering, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, USA
| | | | - Seth A Brooks
- Thayer School of Engineering, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, USA
| | - Chengzi Guo
- Thayer School of Engineering, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, USA
| | - Susan Zolla-Pazner
- Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Michael S Seaman
- Center for Virology and Vaccine Research, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | | | - Karl E Griswold
- Thayer School of Engineering, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, USA
| | - Margaret E Ackerman
- Thayer School of Engineering, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, USA; Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Geisel School of Medicine, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, USA.
| |
Collapse
|