Anti-V2 antibody deficiency in individuals infected with HIV-1 in Cameroon—Liu 2019

The RV144 vaccine clinical study found that high anti-V1V2 antibodies (Abs) reduced HIV-1 infection risk. HIV vaccine design focused on increasing anti-V2 Abs levels to boost effectiveness. We found wide variability in anti-V2 Abs levels in plasma samples from HIV-1-infected Cameroonians, and 6 of 79 longitudinal plasma samples showed significant V2 Abs deficiency. Sequence and multivariate studies of plasma viral V2 regions demonstrated notable differences between V2-deficient and V2-reactive plasma Abs. These findings show that HIV vaccine immunogens with a shorter V2 region, fewer glycosylation sites, and stronger electrostatic charges may induce more anti-V2 Abs and improve vaccine efficacy.

Liu, L., Li, L., Nanfack, A., Mayr, L. M., Soni, S., Kohutnicki, A., Agyingi, L., Wang, X. H., Tuen, M., Shao, Y., Totrov, M., Zolla-Pazner, S., Kong, X. P., Duerr, R., & Gorny, M. K. (2019). Anti-V2 antibody deficiency in individuals infected with HIV-1 in Cameroon. Virology, 529, 57–64. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.virol.2019.01.011