Studies on Potency and breadth of HIV-1, HIV-2 and SIV neutralizing antibody responses

Abstract: Popular Abstract in English Thirty years after the discovery of HIV, the AIDS epidemic is still with us. While the incidence is declining globally and access to anti-retroviral therapy for low- and middle-income countries is improving, the number of new HIV infections is still high. Despite stubborn efforts to design viral immunogens, an effective formulation for the induction of broad and potent neutralizing antibody response has yet to be found. In this thesis, we tried to elucidate factors contributing to the elucitation of broad and potent virus neutralizing antibodies in an experimental monkey model. Moreover, we aimed to obtain clues to the understanding of the role humoral immunity in the benign course of HIV-2 infection. This achieved by comparing plasma neutralizing antibody responses and the effect of complement on plasma antiviral activity in HIV-1 and HIV-2 infected individuals living in Guinea-Bissau. We hope that our results may provide insights into the nature of broad and potent neutralizing humoral immune responses.