News Release

Non-human primate study generates information relevant to HIV-1 vaccine strategies

Peer-Reviewed Publication

Rockefeller University Press

Monkeys repeatedly immunized with a particular form the HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein generated antibodies capable of neutralizing diverse strains of HIV-1, according to a paper published online in the Journal of Experimental Medicine on August 2.

Antibodies in the blood of monkeys immunized with a HIV-1 envelope trimer neutralized a broader variety of HIV-1 strains than antibodies in the blood of humans immunized with an HIV-1 envelope monomer during the VAX04 phase III clinical trial.

However, the immunized monkeys showed only weak protection against subsequent rectal infection with a simian HIV virus. This weak protection may be due to the fact that neutralizing antibody titers were at least 1,000-fold lower in rectal and vaginal tissues than in the blood.

These findings suggest that methods to boost neutralizing antibody abundance in rectal and vaginal tissues might be needed to better prevent HIV-1 transmission.

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About The Journal of Experimental Medicine

The Journal of Experimental Medicine (JEM) is published by The Rockefeller University Press. All editorial decisions on manuscripts submitted are made by active scientists in conjunction with our in-house scientific editors. JEM content is posted to PubMed Central, where it is available to the public for free six months after publication. Authors retain copyright of their published works and third parties may reuse the content for non-commercial purposes under a creative commons license. For more information, please visit www.jem.org.

Sundling, C., et al. 2010. J. Exp. Med. doi:10.1084/jem.20100025.


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