Human Antibody Responses to Viruses (HumAntiViruses)
Human Antibody Responses to Viruses
(HumAntiViruses)
Start date: Jan 1, 2014,
End date: Dec 31, 2018
PROJECT
FINISHED
In addition to polyreactive “natural antibodies” that act as the first line of defense against invading pathogens, “humoral memory” is composed of high affinity antibodies that mediate long-lived immunity against infectious agents, e.g., providing protection against re-infection. The molecular dissection of anti-pathogen B-cell responses using modern technologies to generate specific monoclonal antibodies allowed breakthrough discoveries on antiviral responses to Influenza and HIV. The goal of this proposal is to study memory B-cell antibody responses to human pathogens, especially viruses, by generating and characterizing envelope specific antibodies from infected patients. I propose three aims to address what I believe to be some of the most exciting questions in the field of antiviral B-cell immunity. I propose to study: (i) the development and dynamics of memory B-cell responses to HIV; (ii) the mucosal antibody response to HIV; (iii) the memory B-cell response to Chikungunya virus. The antibodies that will be produced may be of therapeutic interest, but more importantly, their characterization will lead to a better understanding of human antibody responses to infectious agents, and may uncover candidate immunogens for vaccine development.
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