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Nelson AN, Dennis M, Mangold JF, Li K, Saha PT, Cronin K, Cross KA, Kumar A, Mangan RJ, Shaw GM, Bar KJ, Haynes B, Moody AM, Munir Alam S, Pollara J, Hudgens MG, Van Rompay KKA, De Paris K, Permar SR. Leveraging antigenic seniority for maternal vaccination to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV-1. NPJ Vaccines 2022; 7:87. [PMID: 35907918 PMCID: PMC9338948 DOI: 10.1038/s41541-022-00505-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2021] [Accepted: 07/01/2022] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
The development of a maternal HIV vaccine to synergize with current antiretroviral drug prophylaxis can overcome implementation challenges and further reduce mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of HIV. Both the epitope-specificity and autologous neutralization capacity of maternal HIV envelope (Env)-specific antibodies have been implicated in decreased risk of MTCT of HIV. Our goal was to determine if heterologous HIV Env immunization of SHIV.C.CH505-infected, ART-suppressed female rhesus macaques (RMs) could boost autologous Env-specific antibodies. SHIV.C.CH505-infected female RMs (n = 12), began a daily ART regimen at 12 weeks post-infection (wpi), which was continued for 12 weeks. Starting 2 weeks after ART initiation, RMs received 3 monthly immunizations with HIV b.63521/1086.C gp120 or placebo (n = 6/group) vaccine with adjuvant STR8S-C. Compared to the placebo-immunized animals, Env-vaccinated, SHIV-infected RMs exhibited enhanced IgG binding, avidity, and ADCC responses against the vaccine immunogens and the autologous SHIV.C.CH505 Env. Notably, the Env-specific memory B cells elicited by heterologous vaccination were dominated by cells that recognized the SHIV.C.CH505 Env, the antigen of primary exposure. Thus, vaccination of SHIV-infected, ART-suppressed RMs with heterologous HIV Envs can augment multiple components of the antibody response against the Env antigen of primary exposure, suggesting antigenic seniority. Our results suggest that a universal maternal HIV vaccination regimen can be developed to leverage antigenic seniority in targeting the maternal autologous virus pool.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ashley N Nelson
- Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Maria Dennis
- Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Jesse F Mangold
- Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Katherine Li
- Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Pooja T Saha
- Gillings School of Public Health and Center for AIDS Research, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Kenneth Cronin
- Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Kaitlyn A Cross
- Gillings School of Public Health and Center for AIDS Research, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Amit Kumar
- Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Riley J Mangan
- Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA
| | - George M Shaw
- Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Katharine J Bar
- Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Barton Haynes
- Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Anthony M Moody
- Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA
| | - S Munir Alam
- Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Justin Pollara
- Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Michael G Hudgens
- Gillings School of Public Health and Center for AIDS Research, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Koen K A Van Rompay
- California National Primate Research Center, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Kristina De Paris
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology and Center for AIDS Research, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Sallie R Permar
- Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA.
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2
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Langel SN, Blasi M, Permar SR. Maternal immune protection against infectious diseases. Cell Host Microbe 2022; 30:660-674. [PMID: 35550669 DOI: 10.1016/j.chom.2022.04.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
The maternal immune system protects developing offspring against pathogens before birth via transplacental transfer and after birth through secreted milk. This transferred maternal immunity influences each generation's susceptibility to infections and responsiveness to immunization. Thus, boosting immunity in the maternal-neonatal dyad is a potentially valuable public health strategy. Additionally, at critical times during fetal and postnatal development, environmental factors and immune stimuli influence immune development. These "windows of opportunity" offer a chance to identify both risk and protective factors that promote long-term health and limit disease. Here, we review pre- and postpartum maternal immune factors that protect against infectious agents in offspring and how they may shape the infant's immune landscape over time. Additionally, we discuss the influence of maternal immunity on the responsiveness to immunization in early life. Lastly, when maternal factors are insufficient to prevent neonatal infectious diseases, we discuss pre- and postnatal therapeutic strategies for the maternal-neonatal dyad.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephanie N Langel
- Department of Surgery, Duke Center for Human Systems Immunology, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Maria Blasi
- Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA; Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Sallie R Permar
- Department of Pediatrics, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
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3
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Mangold JF, Goswami R, Nelson AN, Martinez DR, Fouda GG, Permar SR. Maternal Intervention to Prevent Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV: Moving Beyond Antiretroviral Therapy. Pediatr Infect Dis J 2021; 40:S5-S10. [PMID: 34042904 PMCID: PMC9215267 DOI: 10.1097/inf.0000000000002774] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Widespread availability of antiretroviral therapy among pregnant women living with HIV has greatly reduced the rate of mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of HIV across the globe. However, while Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS has set targets to reduce the annual number of new pediatric HIV infections to fewer than 40,000 in 2018 and fewer than 20,000 in 2020, progress towards these targets has plateaued at an unacceptably high global estimate of greater than 160,000 children newly infected with HIV in 2018. Moreover, it has become clear that expansion of maternal antiretroviral therapy alone will not be sufficient to close the remaining gap and eliminate MTCT of HIV. Additional strategies such as maternal or infant passive and/or active immunization that synergize with maternal antiretroviral therapy will be required to end the pediatric HIV epidemic. In this review, we outline the landscape of existing maternal interventions and emerging maternal immune-based approaches to prevent MTCT of HIV.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jesse F. Mangold
- Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Ria Goswami
- Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Ashley N. Nelson
- Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA
| | - David R. Martinez
- Department of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Global Public Health, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Genevieve G. Fouda
- Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Sallie R. Permar
- Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA
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4
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Kumar A, Giorgi EE, Tu JJ, Martinez DR, Eudailey J, Mengual M, Honnayakanahalli Marichannegowda M, Van Dyke R, Gao F, Permar SR. Mutations that confer resistance to broadly-neutralizing antibodies define HIV-1 variants of transmitting mothers from that of non-transmitting mothers. PLoS Pathog 2021; 17:e1009478. [PMID: 33798244 PMCID: PMC8055002 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1009478] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2021] [Revised: 04/19/2021] [Accepted: 03/15/2021] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Despite considerable reduction of mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of HIV through use of maternal and infant antiretroviral therapy (ART), over 150,000 infants continue to become infected with HIV annually, falling far short of the World Health Organization goal of reaching <20,000 annual pediatric HIV cases worldwide by 2020. Prior to the widespread use of ART in the setting of pregnancy, over half of infants born to HIV-infected mothers were protected against HIV acquisition. Yet, the role of maternal immune factors in this protection against vertical transmission is still unclear, hampering the development of synergistic strategies to further reduce MTCT. It has been established that infant transmitted/founder (T/F) viruses are often resistant to maternal plasma, yet it is unknown if the neutralization resistance profile of circulating viruses predicts the maternal risk of transmission to her infant. In this study, we amplified HIV-1 envelope genes (env) by single genome amplification and produced representative Env variants from plasma of 19 non-transmitting mothers from the U.S. Women Infant Transmission Study (WITS), enrolled in the pre-ART era. Maternal HIV Env variants from non-transmitting mothers had similar sensitivity to autologous plasma as observed for non-transmitting variants from transmitting mothers. In contrast, infant variants were on average 30% less sensitive to paired plasma neutralization compared to non-transmitted maternal variants from both transmitting and non-transmitting mothers (p = 0.015). Importantly, a signature sequence analysis revealed that motifs enriched in env sequences from transmitting mothers were associated with broadly neutralizing antibody (bnAb) resistance. Altogether, our findings suggest that circulating maternal virus resistance to bnAb-mediated neutralization, but not autologous plasma neutralization, near the time of delivery, predicts increased MTCT risk. These results caution that enhancement of maternal plasma neutralization through passive or active vaccination during pregnancy may potentially drive the evolution of variants fit for vertical transmission. Despite widespread, effective use of ART among HIV infected pregnant women, new pediatric HIV infections increase by about 150,000 every year. Thus, alternative strategies will be required to reduce MTCT and eliminate pediatric HIV infections. Interestingly, in the absence of ART, less than half of HIV-infected pregnant women will transmit HIV, suggesting natural immune protection of infants from virus acquisition. To understand the impact of maternal plasma autologous virus neutralization responses on MTCT, we compared the plasma and bnAb neutralization sensitivity of the circulating viral population present at the time of delivery in untreated, HIV-infected transmitting and non-transmitting mothers. While there was no significant difference in the ability of transmitting and non-transmitting women to neutralize their own circulating virus strains, specific genetic motifs enriched in variants from transmitting mothers were associated with resistance to bnAbs, suggesting that acquired bnAb resistance is a common feature of vertically-transmitted variants. This work suggests that enhancement of plasma neutralization responses in HIV-infected mothers through passive or active vaccination could further drive selection of variants that could be vertically transmitted, and cautions the use of passive bnAbs for HIV-1 prophylaxis or therapy during pregnancy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amit Kumar
- Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University Medical Centre, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Elena E. Giorgi
- Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico, United States of America
| | - Joshua J. Tu
- Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University Medical Centre, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - David R. Martinez
- Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University Medical Centre, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Joshua Eudailey
- Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University Medical Centre, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Michael Mengual
- Department of Medicine, Duke University Medical Centre, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America
| | | | - Russell Van Dyke
- Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, Louisiana, United States of America
| | - Feng Gao
- Department of Medicine, Duke University Medical Centre, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Sallie R. Permar
- Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University Medical Centre, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America
- Department of Pediatrics, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, New York, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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5
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Singh T, Otero CE, Li K, Valencia SM, Nelson AN, Permar SR. Vaccines for Perinatal and Congenital Infections-How Close Are We? Front Pediatr 2020; 8:569. [PMID: 33384972 PMCID: PMC7769834 DOI: 10.3389/fped.2020.00569] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2020] [Accepted: 08/04/2020] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Congenital and perinatal infections are transmitted from mother to infant during pregnancy across the placenta or during delivery. These infections not only cause pregnancy complications and still birth, but also result in an array of pediatric morbidities caused by physical deformities, neurodevelopmental delays, and impaired vision, mobility and hearing. Due to the burden of these conditions, congenital and perinatal infections may result in lifelong disability and profoundly impact an individual's ability to live to their fullest capacity. While there are vaccines to prevent congenital and perinatal rubella, varicella, and hepatitis B infections, many more are currently in development at various stages of progress. The spectrum of our efforts to understand and address these infections includes observational studies of natural history of disease, epidemiological evaluation of risk factors, immunogen design, preclinical research of protective immunity in animal models, and evaluation of promising candidates in vaccine trials. In this review we summarize this progress in vaccine development research for Cytomegalovirus, Group B Streptococcus, Herpes simplex virus, Human Immunodeficiency Virus, Toxoplasma, Syphilis, and Zika virus congenital and perinatal infections. We then synthesize this evidence to examine how close we are to developing a vaccine for these infections, and highlight areas where research is still needed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tulika Singh
- Duke University Medical Center, Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Durham, NC, United States
- Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Duke University, Durham, NC, United States
| | - Claire E. Otero
- Duke University Medical Center, Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Durham, NC, United States
| | - Katherine Li
- Duke University Medical Center, Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Durham, NC, United States
| | - Sarah M. Valencia
- Duke University Medical Center, Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Durham, NC, United States
| | - Ashley N. Nelson
- Duke University Medical Center, Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Durham, NC, United States
| | - Sallie R. Permar
- Duke University Medical Center, Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Durham, NC, United States
- Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Duke University, Durham, NC, United States
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6
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Wieczorek L, Peachman K, Adams DJ, Barrows B, Molnar S, Schoen J, Dawson P, Bryant C, Chenine AL, Sanders-Buell E, Srithanaviboonchai K, Pathipvanich P, Michael NL, Robb ML, Tovanabutra S, Rao M, Polonis VR. Evaluation of HIV-1 neutralizing and binding antibodies in maternal-infant transmission in Thailand. Virology 2020; 548:152-159. [PMID: 32838936 DOI: 10.1016/j.virol.2020.05.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2020] [Revised: 05/12/2020] [Accepted: 05/13/2020] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Despite anti-retroviral therapy (ART) interventions for HIV+ pregnant mothers, over 43,000 perinatal infections occur yearly. Understanding risk factors that lead to mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of HIV are critical. We evaluated maternal and infant plasma binding and neutralizing antibody responses in a drug-naïve, CRF01_AE infected MTCT cohort from Thailand to determine associations with transmission risk. Env V3-specific IgG and neutralizing antibody responses were significantly higher in HIV- infants, as compared to HIV+ infants. In fact, infant plasma neutralizing antibodies significantly associated with non-transmission. Conversely, increased maternal Env V3-specific IgG and neutralizing antibody responses were significantly associated with increased transmission risk, after controlling for maternal viral load. Our results highlight the importance of evaluating both maternal and infant humoral immune responses to better understand mechanisms of protection, as selective placental antibody transport may have a role in MTCT. This study further emphasizes the complex role of Env-specific antibodies in MTCT of CRF01_AE HIV.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lindsay Wieczorek
- U.S. Military HIV Research Program, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, 503 Robert Grant Avenue, Silver Spring, MD, 20910, USA; Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, 6720A Rockledge Drive, Bethesda, MD, 20817, USA
| | - Kristina Peachman
- U.S. Military HIV Research Program, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, 503 Robert Grant Avenue, Silver Spring, MD, 20910, USA; Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, 6720A Rockledge Drive, Bethesda, MD, 20817, USA
| | - Daniel J Adams
- U.S. Military HIV Research Program, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, 503 Robert Grant Avenue, Silver Spring, MD, 20910, USA; Department of Pediatrics, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, 4301 Jones Bridge Road, Bethesda, MD, 20814, USA
| | - Brittani Barrows
- U.S. Military HIV Research Program, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, 503 Robert Grant Avenue, Silver Spring, MD, 20910, USA; Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, 6720A Rockledge Drive, Bethesda, MD, 20817, USA
| | - Sebastian Molnar
- U.S. Military HIV Research Program, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, 503 Robert Grant Avenue, Silver Spring, MD, 20910, USA; Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, 6720A Rockledge Drive, Bethesda, MD, 20817, USA
| | - Jesse Schoen
- U.S. Military HIV Research Program, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, 503 Robert Grant Avenue, Silver Spring, MD, 20910, USA; Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, 6720A Rockledge Drive, Bethesda, MD, 20817, USA
| | - Peter Dawson
- The Emmes Corporation, 401 North Washington Street Suite 700, Rockville, MD, 20850, USA
| | - Chris Bryant
- The Emmes Corporation, 401 North Washington Street Suite 700, Rockville, MD, 20850, USA
| | - Agnès-Laurence Chenine
- U.S. Military HIV Research Program, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, 503 Robert Grant Avenue, Silver Spring, MD, 20910, USA; Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, 6720A Rockledge Drive, Bethesda, MD, 20817, USA
| | - Eric Sanders-Buell
- U.S. Military HIV Research Program, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, 503 Robert Grant Avenue, Silver Spring, MD, 20910, USA; Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, 6720A Rockledge Drive, Bethesda, MD, 20817, USA
| | | | - Panita Pathipvanich
- Chiang Mai University, 239 Huaykaew Road, Suthep Mueang Chiang Mai District, Chiang Mai, 50200, Thailand
| | - Nelson L Michael
- U.S. Military HIV Research Program, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, 503 Robert Grant Avenue, Silver Spring, MD, 20910, USA
| | - Merlin L Robb
- U.S. Military HIV Research Program, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, 503 Robert Grant Avenue, Silver Spring, MD, 20910, USA; Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, 6720A Rockledge Drive, Bethesda, MD, 20817, USA
| | - Sodsai Tovanabutra
- U.S. Military HIV Research Program, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, 503 Robert Grant Avenue, Silver Spring, MD, 20910, USA; Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, 6720A Rockledge Drive, Bethesda, MD, 20817, USA
| | - Mangala Rao
- U.S. Military HIV Research Program, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, 503 Robert Grant Avenue, Silver Spring, MD, 20910, USA.
| | - Victoria R Polonis
- U.S. Military HIV Research Program, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, 503 Robert Grant Avenue, Silver Spring, MD, 20910, USA.
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7
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Doepker LE, Simonich CA, Ralph D, Shipley MM, Garrett M, Gobillot T, Vigdorovich V, Sather DN, Nduati R, Matsen FA, Overbaugh JM. Diversity and Function of Maternal HIV-1-Specific Antibodies at the Time of Vertical Transmission. J Virol 2020; 94:e01594-19. [PMID: 32075936 PMCID: PMC7163126 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.01594-19] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2019] [Accepted: 02/08/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Infants of HIV-positive mothers can acquire HIV infection by various routes, but even in the absence of antiviral treatment, the majority of these infants do not become infected. There is evidence that maternal antibodies provide some protection from infection, but gestational maternal antibodies have not yet been characterized in detail. One of the most studied vertically infected infants is BG505, as the virus from this infant yielded an Envelope protein that was successfully developed as a stable trimer. Here, we isolated and characterized 39 HIV-specific neutralizing monoclonal antibodies (nAbs) from MG505, the mother of BG505, at a time point just prior to vertical transmission. These nAbs belonged to 21 clonal families and employed a variety of VH genes. Many were specific for the HIV-1 Env V3 loop, and this V3 specificity correlated with measurable antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) activity. The isolated nAbs did not recapitulate the full breadth of heterologous or autologous virus neutralization by contemporaneous plasma. Notably, we found that the V3-targeting nAb families neutralized one particular maternal Env variant, even though all tested variants had low V3 sequence diversity and were measurably bound by these nAbs. None of the nAbs neutralized BG505 transmitted virus. Furthermore, the MG505 nAb families were found at relatively low frequencies within the maternal B cell repertoire; all were less than 0.25% of total IgG sequences. Our findings illustrate an example of the diversity of HIV-1 nAbs within one mother, cumulatively resulting in a collection of antibody specificities that can contribute to the transmission bottleneck.IMPORTANCE Mother-to-child-transmission of HIV-1 offers a unique setting in which maternal antibodies both within the mother and passively transferred to the infant are present at the time of viral exposure. Untreated HIV-exposed human infants are infected at a rate of 30 to 40%, meaning that some infants do not get infected despite continued exposure to virus. Since the potential of HIV-specific immune responses to provide protection against HIV is a central goal of HIV vaccine design, understanding the nature of maternal antibodies may provide insights into immune mechanisms of protection. In this study, we isolated and characterized HIV-specific antibodies from the mother of an infant whose transmitted virus has been well studied.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura E Doepker
- Human Biology Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Cassandra A Simonich
- Human Biology Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington, USA
- Medical Scientist Training Program, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Duncan Ralph
- Division of Public Health Sciences, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Mackenzie M Shipley
- Human Biology Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Meghan Garrett
- Human Biology Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington, USA
- Molecular and Cellular Biology Graduate Program, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Theodore Gobillot
- Human Biology Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington, USA
- Medical Scientist Training Program, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Vladimir Vigdorovich
- Center for Global Infectious Disease Research, Seattle Children's Research Institute, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - D Noah Sather
- Center for Global Infectious Disease Research, Seattle Children's Research Institute, Seattle, Washington, USA
- Department of Global Health, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Ruth Nduati
- Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, University of Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Frederick A Matsen
- Division of Public Health Sciences, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Julie M Overbaugh
- Human Biology Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington, USA
- Division of Public Health Sciences, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington, USA
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8
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Optimized Mucosal Modified Vaccinia Virus Ankara Prime/Soluble gp120 Boost HIV Vaccination Regimen Induces Antibody Responses Similar to Those of an Intramuscular Regimen. J Virol 2019; 93:JVI.00475-19. [PMID: 31068425 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.00475-19] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2019] [Accepted: 05/01/2019] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
The benefits of mucosal vaccines over injected vaccines are difficult to ascertain, since mucosally administered vaccines often induce serum antibody responses of lower magnitude than those induced by injected vaccines. This study aimed to determine if mucosal vaccination using a modified vaccinia virus Ankara expressing human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) gp120 (MVAgp120) prime and a HIV-1 gp120 protein boost could be optimized to induce serum antibody responses similar to those induced by an intramuscularly (i.m.) administered MVAgp120 prime/gp120 boost to allow comparison of an i.m. immunization regimen to a mucosal vaccination regimen for the ability to protect against a low-dose rectal simian-human immunodeficiency virus (SHIV) challenge. A 3-fold higher antigen dose was required for intranasal (i.n.) immunization with gp120 to induce serum anti-gp120 IgG responses not significantly different than those induced by i.m. immunization. gp120 fused to the adenovirus type 2 fiber binding domain (gp120-Ad2F), a mucosal targeting ligand, exhibited enhanced i.n. immunogenicity compared to gp120. MVAgp120 was more immunogenic after i.n. delivery than after gastric or rectal delivery. Using these optimized vaccines, an i.n. MVAgp120 prime/combined i.m. (gp120) and i.n. (gp120-Ad2F) boost regimen (i.n./i.m.-plus-i.n.) induced serum anti-gp120 antibody titers similar to those induced by the intramuscular prime/boost regimen (i.m./i.m.) in rabbits and nonhuman primates. Despite the induction of similar systemic anti-HIV-1 antibody responses, neither the i.m./i.m. nor the i.n./i.m.-plus-i.n. regimen protected against a repeated low-dose rectal SHIV challenge. These results demonstrate that immunization regimens utilizing the i.n. route are able to induce serum antigen-specific antibody responses similar to those induced by systemic immunization.IMPORTANCE Mucosal vaccination is proposed as a method of immunization able to induce protection against mucosal pathogens that is superior to protection provided by parenteral immunization. However, mucosal vaccination often induces serum antigen-specific immune responses of lower magnitude than those induced by parenteral immunization, making the comparison of mucosal and parenteral immunization difficult. We identified vaccine parameters that allowed an immunization regimen consisting of an i.n. prime followed by boosters administered by both i.n. and i.m. routes to induce serum antibody responses similar to those induced by i.m. prime/boost vaccination. Additional studies are needed to determine the potential benefit of mucosal immunization for HIV-1 and other mucosally transmitted pathogens.
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9
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Kumar A, Smith CEP, Giorgi EE, Eudailey J, Martinez DR, Yusim K, Douglas AO, Stamper L, McGuire E, LaBranche CC, Montefiori DC, Fouda GG, Gao F, Permar SR. Infant transmitted/founder HIV-1 viruses from peripartum transmission are neutralization resistant to paired maternal plasma. PLoS Pathog 2018; 14:e1006944. [PMID: 29672607 PMCID: PMC5908066 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1006944] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2017] [Accepted: 02/16/2018] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Despite extensive genetic diversity of HIV-1 in chronic infection, a single or few maternal virus variants become the founders of an infant’s infection. These transmitted/founder (T/F) variants are of particular interest, as a maternal or infant HIV vaccine should raise envelope (Env) specific IgG responses capable of blocking this group of viruses. However, the maternal or infant factors that contribute to selection of infant T/F viruses are not well understood. In this study, we amplified HIV-1 env genes by single genome amplification from 16 mother-infant transmitting pairs from the U.S. pre-antiretroviral era Women Infant Transmission Study (WITS). Infant T/F and representative maternal non-transmitted Env variants from plasma were identified and used to generate pseudoviruses for paired maternal plasma neutralization sensitivity analysis. Eighteen out of 21 (85%) infant T/F Env pseudoviruses were neutralization resistant to paired maternal plasma. Yet, all infant T/F viruses were neutralization sensitive to a panel of HIV-1 broadly neutralizing antibodies and variably sensitive to heterologous plasma neutralizing antibodies. Also, these infant T/F pseudoviruses were overall more neutralization resistant to paired maternal plasma in comparison to pseudoviruses from maternal non-transmitted variants (p = 0.012). Altogether, our findings suggest that autologous neutralization of circulating viruses by maternal plasma antibodies select for neutralization-resistant viruses that initiate peripartum transmission, raising the speculation that enhancement of this response at the end of pregnancy could further reduce infant HIV-1 infection risk. Mother to child transmission (MTCT) of HIV-1 can occur during pregnancy (in utero), at the time of delivery (peripartum) or by breastfeeding (postpartum). With the availability of anti-retroviral therapy (ART), rate of MTCT of HIV-1 have been significantly lowered. However, significant implementation challenges remain in resource-poor areas, making it difficult to eliminate pediatric HIV. An improved understanding of the viral population (escape variants from autologous neutralizing antibodies) that lead to infection of infants at time of transmission will help in designing immune interventions to reduce perinatal HIV-1 transmission. Here, we selected 16 HIV-1-infected mother-infant pairs from WITS cohort (from pre anti-retroviral era), where infants became infected peripartum. HIV-1 env gene sequences were obtained by the single genome amplification (SGA) method. The sensitivity of these infant Env pseudoviruses against paired maternal plasma and a panel of broadly neutralizing monoclonal antibodies (bNAbs) was analyzed. We demonstrated that the infant T/F viruses were more resistant against maternal plasma than non-transmitted maternal variants, but sensitive to most (bNAbs). Signature sequence analysis of infant T/F and non-transmitted maternal variants revealed the potential importance of V3 and MPER region for resistance against paired maternal plasma. These findings provide insights for the design of maternal immunization strategies to enhance neutralizing antibodies that target V3 region of autologous virus populations, which could work synergistically with maternal ARVs to further reduce the rate of peripartum HIV-1 transmission.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amit Kumar
- Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University Medical Centre, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Claire E. P. Smith
- Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University Medical Centre, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Elena E. Giorgi
- Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico, United States of America
| | - Joshua Eudailey
- Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University Medical Centre, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - David R. Martinez
- Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University Medical Centre, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Karina Yusim
- Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico, United States of America
| | - Ayooluwa O. Douglas
- Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University Medical Centre, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Lisa Stamper
- Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University Medical Centre, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Erin McGuire
- Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University Medical Centre, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Celia C. LaBranche
- Department of Surgery, Duke University Medical Centre, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - David C. Montefiori
- Department of Surgery, Duke University Medical Centre, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Genevieve G. Fouda
- Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University Medical Centre, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Feng Gao
- Department of Medicine, Duke University Medical Centre, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America
- National Engineering Laboratory for AIDS Vaccine, College of Life Science, Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin, China
| | - Sallie R. Permar
- Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University Medical Centre, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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Douglas AO, Martinez DR, Permar SR. The Role of Maternal HIV Envelope-Specific Antibodies and Mother-to-Child Transmission Risk. Front Immunol 2017; 8:1091. [PMID: 28928750 PMCID: PMC5591431 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2017.01091] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2017] [Accepted: 08/21/2017] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite the wide availability of antiretroviral therapy (ART) prophylaxis during pregnancy, >150,000 infants become infected through mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of HIV worldwide. It is likely that additional intervention strategies, such as a maternal HIV vaccine, will be required to eliminate pediatric HIV infections. A deeper understanding of the fine specificity and function of maternal HIV envelope (Env)-specific responses that provide partial protection against MTCT will be critical to inform the design of immunologic strategies to curb the pediatric HIV epidemic. Recent studies have underlined a role of maternal HIV Env-specific neutralizing and non-neutralizing responses in reducing risk of MTCT of HIV and in prolonging survival rates in HIV-infected infants. However, critical gaps in our knowledge include (A) the specific role of maternal autologous-virus IgG-neutralizing responses in driving the selection of infant transmitted founder (T/F) viruses and (B) Env mechanisms of escape from maternal autologous virus-neutralizing antibodies (NAbs). A more refined understanding of the fine specificities of maternal autologous virus NAbs and ways that maternal circulating viruses escape from these antibodies will be crucial to inform maternal vaccination strategies that can block MTCT to help achieve an HIV-free generation.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - David R Martinez
- Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Durham, NC, United States.,Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, United States
| | - Sallie R Permar
- Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Durham, NC, United States.,Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, United States.,Department of Pediatrics, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, United States
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