Neutralizing antibodies against HIV – back in the major leagues?

• Published in: Current Opinion in Immunology Vol. 14; no. 4; pp. 495 - 502
• Main Authors: Ferrantelli, Flavia, Ruprecht, Ruth M
• Format: Book Review Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01.08.2002
• Subjects: AIDS vaccine, clinical trial; AIDS Vaccines; Animals; Antibodies, Monoclonal - adverse effects; Antibodies, Monoclonal - immunology; Antibodies, Monoclonal - therapeutic use; Antibody Specificity; Clinical Trials, Phase I as Topic; cross-clade neutralization; deceptive imprinting; HIV; HIV - immunology; HIV Antibodies - adverse effects; HIV Antibodies - immunology; HIV Antibodies - therapeutic use; HIV Infections - immunology; HIV Infections - prevention & control; HIV Infections - therapy; Humans; Immunization, Passive; Neutralization Tests; neutralizing monoclonal antibody; original antigenic sin; passive immunization; Primates; protection from infection; SHIV; T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic - immunology; AIDS vaccine, clinical trial; protection from infection; SHIV; neutralizing monoclonal antibody; deceptive imprinting; Drug Discovery; Virology; original antigenic sin; Immunology; HIV; cross-clade neutralization; passive immunization; Molecular Medicine
• ISSN: 0952-7915; 1879-0372
• DOI: 10.1016/S0952-7915(02)00362-X

The past few months have seen encouraging successes for neutralizing antibodies against HIV; human monoclonal antibodies targeting conserved HIV envelope epitopes potently neutralized primary virus isolates, including strains of different clades. In primates, passive immunization with combinations containing human monoclonal antibodies completely prevented infection, even after mucosal virus challenges. Epitopes recognized by the protective monoclonal antibodies are important determinants for protection and provide a rational basis for AIDS vaccine development. Successful passive immunization with human neutralizing monoclonal antibodies has emphasized the importnace of neutralizing antibodies in controllinf HIV infection and provided targets for developing antibody-response-based AIDS vaccines.