Clinical evaluation of a soluble trimeric HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein vaccine

Abstract

Evaluation of: Spearman P, Lally MA, Elizaga M et al. A trimeric, V2-deleted HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein vaccine elicits potent neutralizing antibodies, but limited breadth of neutralization in human volunteers. J. Infect. Dis. 203, 1165–1173 (2011).

Designing an HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein (Env) that can induce broadly neutralizing antibodies in humans remains one of the great challenges in biomedical research. Monomeric gp120 has repeatedly failed to induce cross-neutralizing antibodies in clinical trials. Spearman et al. vaccinated uninfected volunteers with a trimeric gp140 protein. They found that the vaccine was safe and induced neutralizing antibody responses against the homologous virus, but not cross-neutralizing responses. The results reinforce the notion that our Env vaccine design needs to improve.

Keywords::

• DNA prime
• envelope glycoprotein
• gp140 trimer
• HIV-1 vaccine
• subunit protein

Financial & competing interests disclosure

Rogier W Sanders is a recipient of Veni and Vidi fellowships from The Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research and a Mathilde Krim fellowship from the American Foundation for AIDS Research. Rogier W Sanders also receives royalties from a patent on another trimeric HIV-1 gp140 vaccine candidate. The author has no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.