Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

November 18, 2019

19/11/2019

Experimental HIV vaccine successfully elicits broadly neutralizing antibodies to the virus Vaccinated rabbits produce antibodies to at least two vulnerable sites on HIV.

November 18, 2019

LA JOLLA, CA An experimental HIV vaccine developed by scientists at Scripps Research and the nonprofit vaccine research organization IAVI has reached an important milestone by eliciting antibodies that can neutralize a wide variety of HIV strains.

The tests, in rabbits, showed that these broadly neutralizing antibodies, or bnAbs, targeted at least two critical sites on the virus. Researchers widely assume that a vaccine must elicit bnAbs to multiple sites on HIV if it is to provide robust protection against this ever-changing virus.

The promising results, which appear in Immunity, suggest that researchers are one step closer to developing an effective HIV vaccine a major goal of medical science ever since the virus was identified in 1983.

It's an initial proof of principle but an important one, and we're now working to optimize this vaccine design, says the study's senior author Richard Wyatt, PhD, a professor in the Department of Immunology and Microbiology at Scripps Research.

According to UNAIDS, about 35 million people worldwide have died of the immunodeficiency syndrome, AIDS, which is caused by HIV infection. About 38 million others are now living with HIV infection. Antiviral drugs can keep HIV-infected people alive and reduce their ability to transmit the virus to others, but these drugs do not clear the infection and must be taken indefinitely. Researchers have long recognized that a preventive vaccine, available at a low cost to uninfected people, will be needed to eliminate HIV as a major public health threat.

HIV's rapid mutation rate and other mechanisms for evading immune attack have made it an extremely difficult target for vaccine designers. But the test conducted by Wyatt and his team confirms that vaccination can elicit the kinds of antibodies that are needed to provide broad protection against HIV. These bnAbs, as vaccine experts call them, can neutralize multiple HIV strains because they bind to critical sites on the virus that do not vary much from strain to strain. People who are infected with HIV sometimes produce bnAbs as part of their antibody response, but infrequently and usually after infection has been long established. The chief challenge for HIV vaccine designers has been to find ways to stimulate the immune system in most or all individuals into making bnAbs that hit multiple vulnerable sites on the virus, in order to protect against a high proportion of HIV strains.

At the heart of the vaccine design by Wyatt and colleagues is a virus-mimicking protein based on HIV's Env protein. Normally, multiple copies of bush-like Env proteins are spread out on the surface of each spherical HIV particle. Each Env protein contains a molecular mechanism that allows it to bind to a receptor on immune cells known as CD4, and use that receptor as a portal to break into the cell. The researchers engineered a version of Env that models the essential structures on the real Env while being stable enough to use as a vaccine. To present it in a way that would resemble a real HIV virus particle, they created virus-sized synthetic spheres of fat-related molecules, liposomes, which are studded densely with the engineered Env proteins.

On a natural HIV Env protein, thickets of sugar-related molecules called glycans normally help shield the all-important CD4 binding site from immune attack. As an initial priming immunization, the researchers used versions of Env in which this glycan shield around the CD4 binding site had been partly removed.

The idea was to better expose this site and thereby stimulate a broad antibody reaction to it at the start, Wyatt says.

Subsequent booster immunizations over 48 weeks used Env proteins with restored glycans, to select for antibodies that target the CD4 binding site but can also get through this shield. The Env proteins in the booster shots also were mixes based on different strains of HIV, to generally promote antibody responses against Env structures that do not vary among these strains.

The team inoculated 12 rabbits following their vaccine strategy and compared the results with a control group that received only a single, glycan-shielded version of Env. They found that their vaccine strategy had a much better response, with five of the rabbits developing antibodies that could neutralize multiple HIV isolates.

The researchers analyzed the antibodies of the rabbit that had responded most strongly, and identified two distinct types of bnAb. One, which they called E70, blocks the CD4 binding site as expected, though in an unusual way partly by grabbing one of the shielding glycans. The other, 1C2, hits a different but well known vulnerable spot on Env, at the interface between two key segments of the complex protein. The binding of antibody 1C2 apparently destabilizes Env so that it can no longer mediate HIV's entry into host cells. That antibody also turned out to have an unusual breadth of neutralization, blocking 87 percent of a panel of 208 distinct HIV isolates.

The finding is an important demonstration that vaccination against HIV, if done in the right way, can achieve the goal of inducing bnAbs to multiple sites on the virus, Wyatt says.

The team of scientists are continuing to test and improve their vaccine strategy in small animal models and hope eventually to test it in monkeys and then humans.

The co-lead authors of the study, Vaccination with Glycan-Modified HIV NFL Envelope Trimer-Liposomes Elicits Broadly Neutralizing Antibodies to Multiple Sites of Vulnerability, were Viktoriya Dubrovskaya, PhD, and Gabriel Ozorowski, PhD, of Scripps Research and Karen Tran, PhD, of the IAVI Neutralizing Antibod
LINK: https://www.scripps.edu/news-and-events/press-room/2019/20191118-wyatt...
See more stories from scripps

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

07/10/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Media Operations from Ingest to Distribution

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...

06/09/2026

Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA World Cup 2026 in Germany with Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos

June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...

04/08/2026

Scripps Completes Acquisition of WTVQ Lexington

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

04/08/2026

U.S., U.K. Consumers Now Spend 11 Hours a Day Using Media

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

04/08/2026

Sinclair Announces 2026 Annual Scholarship Winners

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

04/08/2026

Tom DeLay: Only Congress Can Change Station Ownership Caps

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

04/08/2026

IAB Tech Lab Upgrades Open Framework for Agentic Advertising

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

04/08/2026

DirecTV For Business Inks New Agreement to Sell NFL Sunday Ticket

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

04/08/2026

IEEE Broadcast Technology Society Honors Charles Einolf

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

04/08/2026

Homecoming Artist Spotlight: Dreion

Homecoming Artist Spotlight: Dreion The singer, songwriter, and producer talks about finding his village at Berklee ahead of his Homecoming performance on Sep...

04/08/2026

Dalet Announces Commercial Availability of Dalia, Bringing Media-Aware Agentic AI to Enterprise Productions

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

03/08/2026

SVGs TranSPORT Conference Returns to NYC on Oct. 20; Register Today!

SVG's annual TranSPORT conference returns to New York City for a full day of sessions focused on the current state of live-sports-transmission technology. S...

03/08/2026

SVG All-Stars: Stefan Richardson, Director, Global Broadcast, Riot Games

A five-time Emmy winner, this esports vet has built a production career on live storytelling, audience connection, and meeting viewers wherever they are The sp...

03/08/2026

MLBs Jason Hedgcock on Using the Cloud To Produce World Baseball Classic Games for Netflix Japan

Live production in the cloud is a growing trend across the industry and Major Le...

03/08/2026

Cookie Queens Is Sweet With Substance

(L-R) Nyah B., Nala B., Shannon Elizabeth S., Celia K., Olive G., and Nikki B. attend the Q&A for Cookie Queens by Alysa Nahmias, an official selection of the...

03/08/2026

Rhodes launch Rhodes Clav Pro

Recreates a 1977 Hohner Clavinet D6 After launching a software recreation of their own electric piano, Rhodes set about capturing another classic instrument...

03/08/2026

Peak Tamer from Nicky Howard

A modern solution for an old technique Peak Tamer is a new standalone application that automatically applies gain automation to keep rogue peaks under cont...

03/08/2026

Sound Particles update Beat Panner

Plug-in gains object metadata automation export Sound Particles have just released an update that adds a new Metadata Automation function to their their rec...

03/08/2026

SGL Carbon and X-energy announce capacity expansion for Nuclear-Grade Graphite

SGL Carbon and X-energy today announced a binding agreement to double SGL's production capacity for medium-grain isotropic graphite ( NBG-18 ), a specialize...

03/08/2026

Glensound launches Greater Divine Supernal at PLASA Show...

Glensound will launch the Greater Divine Supernal at PLASA Show 2026, extending its intelligent loudspeaker range for professional studio monitoring and live au...

03/08/2026

How Agua Tinta's Class Project Launched Her Songwriting Career

How Agua Tinta's Class Project Launched Her Songwriting Career Two years after graduating from Berklee, the songwriter has a Latin Grammy nomination, a So...

03/08/2026

Lightware UCX delivers campus-wide connectivity to Leiden...

Leiden University's new Campus Spui, located in the heart of The Hague, the diplomatic and administrative centre of the Netherlands, opened in February 2026...

03/08/2026

Bitfocus heads to the future with new investment

Bitfocus, the specialist in media control and monitoring, has received a further boost to its plans for continuing growth, particularly in Europe and North Amer...

03/08/2026

Leagues Cup kicks off tomorrow, August\u00A04, on\u00A0Apple\u00A0TV - UPDATE - Posted on 03 August 2026

Building on the momentum of a landmark year for soccer in North America, Leagues...

02/08/2026

Acustica introduce Dangerous Music BAX EQ Plugin

Classic EQ design goes virtual Following on from the launch of the 500-series version of their BAX EQ unit, Dangerous Music have now teamed up with modellin...

02/08/2026

Television, Resilience and National Security

The Government's Missing Dimension This article was originally published on the National Preparedness Commission website on 25 June 2026. ----------------...

01/08/2026

Harmonic Piano from The Crow Hill Company

Latest free Vaults instrument released The Crow Hill Company's Vaults collection offers a continually rotating selection of virtual instruments and samp...

01/08/2026

American Television Alliance Slams Deltavision Blackout on Verizon

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

01/08/2026

FreeWheel Debuts TV Series-Level Reporting for CTV Buyers

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

01/08/2026

Minnesota Timberwolves, DAZN to Launch New Streaming Offering

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

01/08/2026

Early Registration Opens for 2026 SMPTE Media Technology Summit

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

01/08/2026

NBCUniversal and YouTube Ink Landmark Distribution Deal

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

01/08/2026

COW Jobs: Lead Generation Representative - Animation Services

COW Jobs: Lead Generation Representative - Animation Services Brie Clayton July 31, 2026 0 Comments Lead Generation Representative - Animation Service...

01/08/2026

Emilie Lowe Shoots Award Winning Short Film Where Dead Things Grow with Blackmagic Design

Emilie Lowe Shoots Award Winning Short Film Where Dead Things Grow with Blackmag...

01/08/2026

Early Registration Opens for the 2026 SMPTE Media Technology Summit

Early Registration Opens for the 2026 SMPTE Media Technology Summit Brie Clayton July 31, 2026 0 Comments Initial Program Announced Alongside New Medi...

31/07/2026

SVG Sit-Down: NHL's Steve Mayer on Building a Centralized Production Operation From Scratch

With an emphasis on local, the league is looking beyond the initial four teams t...

31/07/2026

Reflecting on the 2026 Summer Season of Our Sundance Institute Labs

The 2026 Sundance Institute Directors Lab fellows in Estes Park, Colorado (Photo by Gabe Rovick) Dear Friends, This has been an extraordinary year for our ar...

31/07/2026

Audiocube launch Audiocube Space

Offers 360-degree sound placement in any DAW Audiocube have just announced the launch of a new plug-in that embeds a complete 3D acoustic environment inside...

31/07/2026

Sonarworks expand SoundID VoiceAI library

10 new Chinese C-Pop voices introduced While Sonarworks are best known to many for their room-correction software, their product range also includes an inno...

31/07/2026

PSPaudioware release PSP BBDelay

Reimagines the vintage BBD sound character PSPaudioware have now officially launched the new delay plug-in that they were previewing at GearExpo UK. Said to...

31/07/2026

Savannah Bananas Hits a Broadcast Home Run with Calrec

The Savannah Bananas has built its reputation on refusing to play baseball by traditional rules, and the team's production arm Banana Ball TV (BTV) has draf...

31/07/2026

How Valuable Is TV to Smaller, Independent Cable Operators?

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

31/07/2026

Early Registration Opens for the 2026 SMPTE Media Techno...

SMPTE, the home for media professionals, technologists and engineers, today opened early registration for the 2026 Media Technology Summit (MTS) and announced i...

31/07/2026

Central Christian Church Connects Remote Production Teams...

Clear-Com announced that Central Christian Church has transformed communication across its live production operations by implementing Clear-Com's LQ Seri...

31/07/2026

Haivision To Feature Makito ONE, Falkon X4 At IBC 2026

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

31/07/2026

ABC Stations Tout Community Support for License Renewals

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

31/07/2026

Finalists Announced for IBC2026 Innovation Awards

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

31/07/2026

IBC2026 Innovation Awards finalists unveiled honouring co...

IBC has unveiled the finalists for the IBC2026 Innovation Awards, recognising collaborative projects from around the world that solve real-world challenges and ...