NATIVE TRIMERIC ENV IMMUNOGEN DESIGN

摘要

A major focus of HIV- 1 vaccine research is to design an immunogen that can elicit potent broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs) to the envelope glycoproteins (Env). A clade C Env is disclosed that is stable and efficiently cleaved on the cell surface. Soluble forms of the Env are also disclosed. This Env exposes epitopes for many broadly neutralizing antibodies targeting distinct regions of the Env, while occludes those of non-neutralizing antibodies. Binding of several conformation dependent antibodies suggests that the Env assumes a native conformation on the cell surface and in soluble form. The efficient cleavage and antibody binding properties of the Env makes it a suitable immunogen to use in a vaccine and to serve as an effective platform for rational design of HIV- 1 vaccine immunogens.