New antibody analysis accelerates rational vaccine design Scripps Research study illuminates humoral immune response to experimental vaccines.
August 07, 2018
A team at Scripps Research has come up with a faster way to analyze the outcome of experimental vaccines against HIV and other pathogens. Their new system lets scientists quickly assess the full spectrum of antibodies produced in an individual in response to a pathogen or vaccine and determine if these antibodies are likely to be effective against the pathogen.
We can now watch antibody responses evolve almost in real time, says Lars Hangartner, PhD, a Scripps Research associate professor and co-senior author of the study, which published today in the journal Immunity.
This can be applied to any pathogen, adds Andrew Ward, PhD, professor at Scripps Research and study co-senior author. Ward is also affiliated with the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) Neutralizing Antibody Center and Center for HIV/AIDS Vaccine Immunology and Immunogen Discovery (CHAVI-ID) at Scripps Research.
When a pathogen attacks, your immune system amasses an army of antibodies to fight back. Some of these antibodies will fail, but some may get close to beating a pathogen's defenses. Over time, the best antibodies will evolve to target a pathogen's vulnerable sites. If all goes well, antibodies will home in on those epitopes, neutralize the invader and provide lifelong immunity.
Vaccines work by tricking the body into producing neutralizing antibodies against a future invader. Testing vaccines tends to be a lengthy process, with an initial immunization and then a series of booster shots over weeks or months. The time it takes to analyze the trial data means scientists don't usually get to see if a vaccine is working until the experiment is over, making it especially hard to tweak treatment strategies in the face of emerging diseases.
With the new study, scientists finally have a way to get a nearly real-time picture of antibody evolution. The new technique builds on Scripps Research-led breakthroughs in immunology and an imaging technique called electron microscopy, which reveals the structures of antibodies bound to their target pathogens, such as HIV.
The researchers used rabbit blood samples collected at different stages of an HIV vaccine trial. The researchers purified the samples, breaking down the molecules until they could extract antibody fragments. They then mixed these antibody fragments with their targets viral proteins and imaged them in the electron microscope, revealing how the immune system was developing its attack on the pathogen.
After fine-tuning the biochemistry behind the formation of immune complexes of HIV Env trimers with antibody fragments, we were able to establish a very solid protocol allowing for semi-quantitative electron microscopy analysis, says study co-first author Matteo Bianchi, PhD, a former Scripps researcher now with the Institute of Medical Virology, University of Zurich.
This new method is based on images taken by a relatively low-tech method called negative stain imaging, which helped them spot promising, or more often than not, distracting, antibodies. At last, the researchers could quickly find out if a vaccine was pushing the immune system along the right path. And in cases where a vaccine wasn't working, the method could provide researchers with information as to how the vaccine could be improved.
You can change the direction of a study depending on the results from this method, says study co-first author Hannah Turner, a research assistant in the Ward lab. Never before have we been able to take a snapshot of our antibodies like this giving us a more complete picture of what is happening and how we can influence the vaccination process.
While the images were not high-resolution, the researchers were excited to report that this level of analysis which only takes days could become a routine test around the world. Most institutes have at least the technology and resources to do this level of analysis, says Ward.
For an even closer look at the antibodies, Ward used higher-tech cryo-electron microscopy to get high-resolution, 3-D images of the antibodies with their viral targets. These detailed snapshots revealed additional details that may help scientists improve future experimental HIV vaccines.
The researchers say their faster method could open the door to personalized design for vaccines. For example, this study included a high-responder rabbit that produced many effective antibodies, and a low-responder rabbit with a weak army of antibodies. Going forward, researchers could use this new method in human vaccine or therapeutic trials to quickly separate high responders from low responders early on, saving crucial time for patients and their doctors as they search for effective therapies and vaccines that provide herd immunity.
This is going to be part of every immunization project I do from now on, Ward says.
This method has the potential to change the pace at which we can develop vaccines, adds Hangartner.
Additional authors of the study, Rapid mapping of polyclonal antibody responses by electron microscopy, were co-first authors Matteo Bianchi and Hannah Turner of Scripps Research; Bartek Nogal, Christopher Cottrell, David Oyen, Matthias Pauthner, Raiza Bastidas and Rebecca Nedellec of Scripps Research; Laura McCoy of University College London; Ian Wilson of Scripps Research, the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative-Neutralizing Antibody Center and the Center for HIV/AIDS Vaccine Immunology and Immunogen Discovery; and Dennis Burton of Scripps Research, the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative-Neutralizing Antibody Center, the Center for HIV/AIDS Vaccine Immunology and Immunogen Discovery; and the Ragon Institute.
The study was supported by the N
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Liberty University on why broadcast technology isn't just a technical invest...
08/05/2026
COW Jobs: UGC, On-Camera Video Content
Brie Clayton May 7, 2026
0 Comments
UGC, On-Camera Video Content
April 17, 2026Documentary Editor - US,......
07/05/2026
Journalists reporting on Sudan are working in one of the most complex and fast-m...
07/05/2026
Multi-year partnership positions Victory+ as a free home for Dallas Cowboys orig...
07/05/2026
From sideline reporting to directing and producing, the talented sophomore is building a well-rounded foundation for a career in live sports production
In the ...
07/05/2026
Cobalt Digital has received two Future Best of Show awards at NAB Show 2026. The COBALT blueCORE platform was recognized by TV Tech, and the COBALT PACIFIC ULL-...
07/05/2026
ESPN analyst Mina Kimes will host the televised semifinals and finals of the 202...
07/05/2026
Bitmovin has announced that MUBI, the global film streaming platform, has selected Bitmovin as its cloud VOD encoding partner. Bitmovin's encoding infrastru...
07/05/2026
NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises and the U.S. Soccer Federation have announced...
07/05/2026
Angel City Football Club (ACFC) and Victory have announced a regional broadcast partnership bringing live match coverage to fans across the greater Los Angeles...
07/05/2026
Spiideo has announced the launch of AI Highlights inside Spiideo Play, its automated sports production platform. AI Highlights combines video, event data, audio...
07/05/2026
Leostream Corporation has announced a unified remote access ecosystem for high-p...
07/05/2026
The Atlanta Dream has partnered with Victory to stream all locally broadcast Dream games for free, expanding the team's digital distribution strategy and g...
07/05/2026
Riedel Communications has announced the appointment of Marc Engroff as Chief Fin...
07/05/2026
SES and ARD, Germany's largest public broadcasting network, have announced a long-term extension of their satellite distribution partnership through 2039. U...
07/05/2026
UpLight Technologies delivers a flexible video and lighting system for a new televised sportLaunching the Pro Cheer League required more than creating a compell...
07/05/2026
Full Day Productions and GSE Worldwide have announced Spikes Under the Lights, a...
07/05/2026
Seit dem Start im Jahr 2023 hat DJ (Beta) das personalisierte H rerlebnis von 94...
07/05/2026
Da quando stata presentata nel 2023, DJ (beta) ha aiutato a definire un'esperienza d'ascolto pi personalizzata per 94 milioni di utenti Spotify Premi...
07/05/2026
Since launching in 2023, DJ (beta) has helped shape a more personalized listenin...
07/05/2026
Desde o lan amento em 2023, o DJ (beta) j ajudou a deixar a experi ncia de ouvi...
07/05/2026
From our earliest days, Spotify has been built on a simple principle: Great audio should be easy to reach. It's what's driven us to expand from music to...
07/05/2026
Asian and Pacific Islander artists continue to shape the global soundscape, pushing creative boundaries and connecting with fans worldwide. This Asian & Pacific...
07/05/2026
Company announce long-requested choir instrument
In the latest expansion of their Symphonic Elements series, UJAM have introduced an all-new vocal instrumen...
07/05/2026
Modular-inspired sound generation with digital control
Buchla have introduced Ziggy, a new compact synthesizer built around the company's complex oscill...
07/05/2026
Combines analogue voices with digital synthesis and sequencing
Polyend have announced Drums, a new hybrid analogue and digital drum machine that combines sy...
07/05/2026
Control surface now officially supports four DAWs
When Nektar launched the Panorama CS12 control surface, it worked exclusively with Apple's Logic Pro, ...
07/05/2026
In the first quarter 2026, SGL Carbon generated consolidated sales of 184.5 million, which was 49.8 million, or 21.3%, lower than in the prior year (Q1 2025: ...
07/05/2026
Rohde & Schwarz and Greenerwave achieve precise and fast ESA antenna characteriz...
07/05/2026
Two multi-role L3Harris products - the Red Wolf launched effects vehicle and SK...
07/05/2026
L3Harris will be developing key features of a secure and resilient digital infra...
07/05/2026
Alysa Liu and Shohei Ohtani Help Drive Viewership as 91 of the Top 100 Broadcast...
07/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/05/2026
Cobalt Digital Wins Two Future Best of Show Awards at 2026 NAB Show
Manufacturer Recognized by TV Tech and TVBEurope for Innovation in signal processing
Cobal...
07/05/2026
Software and hardware platforms, AI power and user-friendliness on show...
07/05/2026
Intinor will demonstrate its latest technical enhancements for the Direkt series at BroadcastAsia 2026. With a continued focus on reliable contribution and remo...
07/05/2026
Bitmovin has announced that MUBI has chosen Bitmovin as its cloud VOD encoding partner, replacing MUBI's legacy on premises encoding setup to improve scalab...
07/05/2026
Meet Graduates from Berklees Class of 2026 Members of this years graduating class reflect on their proudest moments at Berklee and look ahead to whats next.
...
07/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/05/2026
At BroadcastAsia 2026, Interra Systems will demonstrate its latest innovations in automated quality control (QC), real-time monitoring, and captioning. The comp...
07/05/2026
At this year's Broadcast Asia, PlayBox Neo is set to unveil recent innovations across its PlayBox Neo Suite and integrated range of broadcast media solution...
New antibody analysis accelerates rational vaccine design Scripps Research study illuminates humoral immune response to experimental vaccines.
