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Encountering Lectins In The Recipient Mucosa: Implications Of N-Linked Glycosylation On Hiv-1 Transmission, Adam Meadows

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Although several studies have determined key differences in envelope motifs between TF and chronic HIV-1, it is still not known what the overall glycosylation profile is that is selected for in a transmission event, as well as what contributes to this selection. Using a bottom-up approach of modifying specific viruses, determining their transmission fitness in an ex vivo tissue explant assay, and determining their glycan content, we have laid the basis for determining the overall glycan structure which is selected for in TF HIV-1. Preliminarily, we have shown that C-type lectins represent a stringent barrier to transmission and have several …

Endogenous, Controlled Expression Of Anti-Hiv-1 Broadly Neutralizing Antibody, Darshit Patel

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Recently, researchers have identified a number of anti-HIV broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs), such as VRC01 and N6, capable of targeting a broad range of HIV-1 strains. Passive immunization using these patient-derived bNAbs could provide temporary protection but are limited by the short antibody half-life. While current gene transfer technology allows sustained bNAb expression, it lacks the ability to control bNAb production in vivo resulting in possible autoimmunity. To address this issue of achieving controlled bNAb expression in vivo, we hypothesize that bNAb expression from transduced Flu-specific B cells can be activated and modulated by subsequent Flu immunizations in the …

Hiv-1 Group M Subtype Fitness, Disease Progression, And Entry Efficiency, Colin M. Venner

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) emerged in the human population shortly after the turn of the 19th century. Distribution of HIV-1 across the globe over the past 30–35 years can be traced to founder events with primordial HIV strains from sub-Saharan Africa. Even considering the burden of HIV in Africa, our knowledge of HIV-1 disease is still largely limited to subtype B HIV-1, a strain responsible for 3 million infections in North America and Europe as compared to the 33 million that are infected with HIV-1 subtypes A, C, D, and circulating and unique recombinant forms.

This dissertation analyzes …