Antibody improves host immune response against HIV-1

HIV-1 therapy with monoclonal antibody 3BNC117 elicits host immune responses against HIV-1

Schoofs, T. Klein, F., Braunschweig, M.*, Kreider, E.F., Feldmann, A., Nogueira, L., Oliveira, T., Lorenzi, J.C., Parrish, E.H., Learn, G.H., West, A.P. Jr, Bjorkman, P.J., Schlesinger, S.J., Seaman, M.S., Czartoski, J., McElrath, M.J., Pfeifer, N., Hahn, B.H., Caskey, M., Nussenzweig M.C.

3BNC117 is a broad and potent neutralizing antibody to HIV-1 that targets the CD4 binding site on the viral envelope spike. When administered passively, this antibody can prevent infection in animal models and suppress viremia in HIV-1 infected individuals. Here we report that HIV-1 immunotherapy with a single injection of 3BNC117 affects host antibody responses in viremic individuals. In comparison to untreated controls that showed little change in their neutralizing activity over a 6-month period, 3BNC117 infusion significantly improved neutralizing responses to heterologous tier 2 viruses in nearly all study participants. We conclude that 3BNC117-mediated immunotherapy enhances host humoral immunity to HIV-1. Science, 5/5/2016