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Basu S, Gohain N, Kim J, Trinh HV, Choe M, Joyce MG, Rao M. Determination of Binding Affinity of Antibodies to HIV-1 Recombinant Envelope Glycoproteins, Pseudoviruses, Infectious Molecular Clones, and Cell-Expressed Trimeric gp160 Using Microscale Thermophoresis. Cells 2023; 13:33. [PMID: 38201237 PMCID: PMC10778174 DOI: 10.3390/cells13010033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2023] [Revised: 11/27/2023] [Accepted: 12/13/2023] [Indexed: 01/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Developing a preventative vaccine for HIV-1 has been a global priority. The elicitation of broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs) against a broad range of HIV-1 envelopes (Envs) from various strains appears to be a critical requirement for an efficacious HIV-1 vaccine. To understand their ability to neutralize HIV-1, it is important to characterize the binding characteristics of bNAbs. Our work is the first to utilize microscale thermophoresis (MST), a rapid, economical, and flexible in-solution temperature gradient method to quantitatively determine the binding affinities of bNAbs and non-neutralizing monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) to HIV-1 recombinant envelope monomer and trimer proteins of different subtypes, pseudoviruses (PVs), infectious molecular clones (IMCs), and cells expressing the trimer. Our results demonstrate that the binding affinities were subtype-dependent. The bNAbs exhibited a higher affinity to IMCs compared to PVs and recombinant proteins. The bNAbs and mAbs bound with high affinity to native-like gp160 trimers expressed on the surface of CEM cells compared to soluble recombinant proteins. Interesting differences were seen with V2-specific mAbs. Although they recognize linear epitopes, one of the antibodies also bound to the Envs on PVs, IMCs, and a recombinant trimer protein, suggesting that the epitope was not occluded. The identification of epitopes on the envelope surface that can bind to high affinity mAbs could be useful for designing HIV-1 vaccines and for down-selecting vaccine candidates that can induce high affinity antibodies to the HIV-1 envelope in their native conformation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shraddha Basu
- Henry M Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Bethesda, MD 20817, USA; (S.B.); (N.G.); (J.K.); (H.V.T.); (M.C.); (M.G.J.)
- US Military HIV Research Program, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring, MD 20910, USA
| | - Neelakshi Gohain
- Henry M Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Bethesda, MD 20817, USA; (S.B.); (N.G.); (J.K.); (H.V.T.); (M.C.); (M.G.J.)
- US Military HIV Research Program, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring, MD 20910, USA
| | - Jiae Kim
- Henry M Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Bethesda, MD 20817, USA; (S.B.); (N.G.); (J.K.); (H.V.T.); (M.C.); (M.G.J.)
- US Military HIV Research Program, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring, MD 20910, USA
| | - Hung V. Trinh
- Henry M Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Bethesda, MD 20817, USA; (S.B.); (N.G.); (J.K.); (H.V.T.); (M.C.); (M.G.J.)
- US Military HIV Research Program, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring, MD 20910, USA
| | - Misook Choe
- Henry M Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Bethesda, MD 20817, USA; (S.B.); (N.G.); (J.K.); (H.V.T.); (M.C.); (M.G.J.)
- Emerging Infectious Disease Branch, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring, MD 20910, USA
| | - M. Gordon Joyce
- Henry M Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Bethesda, MD 20817, USA; (S.B.); (N.G.); (J.K.); (H.V.T.); (M.C.); (M.G.J.)
- Emerging Infectious Disease Branch, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring, MD 20910, USA
| | - Mangala Rao
- US Military HIV Research Program, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring, MD 20910, USA
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