Interactions of cytochrome c (cyt c) with cardiolipin (CL) partially unfold the protein activating its peroxidase function, a critical event in the execution of apoptosis. However, structural features of the altered protein species in the heterogeneous ensemble are difficult to probe with ensemble averaging. Analyses of the dye-to-heme distance distributions P(r) from time-resolved FRET (TR-FRET) have uncovered two distinct types of CL-bound cyt c conformations, extended and compact. We have combined TR-FRET, fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS), and bio-layer interferometry to develop a systematic understanding of the functional partioning between the two conformations. The two subpopulations are in equilibrium with each other, with a sub-millisecond rate of conformational exchange reflecting the protein folding into a compact non-native state, as well as protein interactions with the lipid surface. Electrostatic interactions with the negatively-charged lipid surface that correlate with physiologically-relevant changes in CL concentrations strongly affect the kinetics of cyt c binding and conformational exchange. A predominantly peripheral binding mechanism, rather than deep protein insertion into the membrane, provides a rationale for the general denaturing effect of the CL surface and the large-scale protein unfolding. These findings closely relate to cyt c folding dynamics and suggest a general strategy for extending the time window in monitoring the kinetics of folding.

Broadly HIV-1-neutralizing antibodies (BnAbs) display one or more unusual traits, including a long heavy chain complementarity-determining region 3 (HCDR3), polyreactivity, and high levels of somatic mutations. These shared characteristics suggest that BnAb development might be limited by immune tolerance controls. It has been postulated that HIV-1-infected individuals with autoimmune disease and defective immune tolerance mechanisms may produce BnAbs more readily than those without autoimmune diseases. In this study, we identified an HIV-1-infected individual with SLE who exhibited controlled viral load (<5,000 copies/ml) in the absence of controlling HLA phenotypes and developed plasma HIV-1 neutralization breadth. We collected memory B cells from this individual and isolated a BnAb, CH98, that targets the CD4 binding site (CD4bs) of HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein 120 (gp120). CH98 bound to human antigens including dsDNA, which is specifically associated with SLE. Anti-dsDNA reactivity was also present in the patient's plasma. CH98 had a mutation frequency of 25% and 15% nt somatic mutations in the heavy and light chain variable domains, respectively, a long HCDR3, and a deletion in the light chain CDR1. The occurrence of anti-dsDNA reactivity by a HIV-1 CD4bs BnAb in an individual with SLE raises the possibility that some BnAbs and SLE-associated autoantibodies arise from similar pools of B cells.

Arguably, vaccination represents the single most effective medical intervention ever developed. Yet, vaccines have failed to provide any or adequate protection against some of the most significant global diseases. The pathogens responsible for these vaccine-recalcitrant diseases have properties that allow them to evade immune surveillance and misdirect or eliminate the immune response. However, genomic and systems biology tools, novel adjuvants and delivery systems, and refined molecular insight into protective immunity have started to redefine the landscape, and results from recent efficacy trials of HIV and malaria vaccines have instilled hope that another golden age of vaccines may be on the horizon.

Design of an envelope-based immunogen capable of inducing a broadly neutralizing antibody response is thought to be key to the development of a protective HIV-1 vaccine. However, the broad diversity of viral variants and a limited ability to produce native envelope have hampered such design efforts. Here we describe adaptation of the yeast display system and use of a combinatorial protein engineering approach to permit directed evolution of HIV envelope variants. Because the intrinsic instability and complexity of this trimeric glycoprotein has greatly impeded the development of immunogens that properly represent the structure of native envelope, this platform addresses an essential need for methodologies with the capacity to rapidly engineer HIV spike proteins towards improved homogeneity, stability, and presentation of neutralizing epitopes. We report for the first time the display of a designed SOSIP gp140 on yeast, and the in vitro evolution of derivatives with greatly improved expression and binding to conformation-dependent antibodies. These efforts represent an initial and critical step toward the ability to rapidly engineer HIV-1 envelope immunogens via directed evolution.

Major advances in donor identification, antigen probe design, and experimental methods to clone pathogen-specific antibodies have led to an exponential growth in the number of newly characterized broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs) that recognize the HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein. Characterization of these bnAbs has defined new epitopes and novel modes of recognition that can result in potent neutralization of HIV-1. However, the translation of envelope recognition profiles in biophysical assays into an understanding of in vivo activity has lagged behind, and identification of subjects and mAbs with potent antiviral activity has remained reliant on empirical evaluation of neutralization potency and breadth. To begin to address this discrepancy between recombinant protein recognition and virus neutralization, we studied the fine epitope specificity of a panel of CD4-binding site (CD4bs) antibodies to define the molecular recognition features of functionally potent humoral responses targeting the HIV-1 envelope site bound by CD4. Whereas previous studies have used neutralization data and machine-learning methods to provide epitope maps, here, this approach was reversed, demonstrating that simple binding assays of fine epitope specificity can prospectively identify broadly neutralizing CD4bs–specific mAbs. Building on this result, we show that epitope mapping and prediction of neutralization breadth can also be accomplished in the assessment of polyclonal serum responses. Thus, this study identifies a set of CD4bs bnAb signature amino acid residues and demonstrates that sensitivity to mutations at signature positions is sufficient to predict neutralization breadth of polyclonal sera with a high degree of accuracy across cohorts and across clades.