The human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1) continues its global spread, with an estimated 33 million people infected. The most cost-effective mechanism of infectious disease control is vaccination, but to date vaccine trials have had only modest success at reducing HIV-1 spread.1
However, antibodies that block HIV-1 infection, termed neutralizing antibodies (NAbs), are known to be effective in preventing HIV-1 infection. Unfortunately, current vaccines have been unable to induce the host to produce this type of antibody. The immune system mounts an immune response to HIV-1 that includes the production of antibodies that bind the viral envelope glycoprotein (Env), the target of neutralizing antibodies. However, naturally produced antibodies are insufficient to curtail infection in most people. One reason is that the Env gene has a strong propensity to randomly mutate its amino acid sequence, rendering antibodies produced against an early version of the glycoprotein ineffective at binding a subsequent version. Therefore, ...
