The implications of patterns in HIV diversity for neutralizing antibody induction and susceptibility.

Curr Opin HIV AIDS 4(5):408-17 (2009) PMID 20048705

Designing an HIV vaccine capable of eliciting broadly cross-reactive neutralizing antibodies is an extraordinarily difficult challenge. Here we focus on the implications of HIV diversity for vaccine design, detailing the impact of levels of variation in epitopes of known potent neutralizing antibodies, and summarizing patterns of overall variation in regional domains within gp120. Strategies for rational vaccine design, to enhance coverage of HIV's natural diversity, are considered.