Distinct Immunoglobulin Fc Glycosylation Patterns Are Associated with Disease Nonprogression and Broadly Neutralizing Antibody Responses in Children with HIV Infection
Maximilian Muenchhoff, Amy W. Chung, Julia Roider, Anne‐Sophie Dugast, Simone I. Richardson, Henrik N. Kløverpris, Alasdair Leslie, Thumbi Ndung’u, Penny L. Moore, Galit Alter, Philip Goulder
Abstract
To protect future generations against HIV, a vaccine will need to induce immunity by the time of sexual debut and hence requires immunization during childhood. Current strategies for a prophylactic HIV vaccine include the induction of a broadly neutralizing antibody response and the recruitment of potent effector functions of immune cells via the constant antibody Fc region. In this study, we show that nonprogressing HIV-infected children mounted antibody responses against HIV that were able to mediate potent Fc effector functions, which may contribute to the control of HIV replication. Children who had specific glycan structures on the Fc portion of antibodies against HIV were able to neutralize a broader range of HIV variants, providing evidence of a potential role of Fc glycovariation in the development of bnAbs against HIV. These findings complement our knowledge of the distinct immune landscape in early life that could be exploited in the development of vaccine strategies.