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Env-antibody coevolution identifies B cell priming as the principal bottleneck to HIV V2 apex broadly neutralizing antibody development.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Habib, R; Roark, RS; Li, H; Connell, AJ; Hogarty, MP; Wagh, K; Wang, S; Marchitto, L; Skelly, AN; Carey, JW; Sowers, KJ; Ayyanathan, K; Li, Y ...
Published in: Sci Immunol
February 13, 2026

Broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs) are rarely elicited during HIV-1 infection. To identify obstacles to bNAb development, we longitudinally studied 122 rhesus macaques infected by 1 of 16 different simian-human immunodeficiency viruses (SHIVs). We identified the V2 apex region of the envelope (Env) as the most common bNAb target and a subset of Envs that preferentially elicited these antibodies. In 10 macaques, we delineated Env-antibody coevolution from B cell priming to bNAb development. Antibody phylogenies revealed permissive developmental pathways guided by evolving Envs that contained few mutations in or near the V2 apex C-strand, which were a sensitive indicator of apex-targeted responses. The absence of such mutations reflected a failure in bNAb priming. These results indicate that efficiency of B cell priming, and not complexities in Env-guided affinity maturation, is a primary obstacle to V2 apex bNAb elicitation in SHIV-infected macaques and identify specific HIV-1 Envs to advance as vaccine platforms.

Duke Scholars

Published In

Sci Immunol

DOI

EISSN

2470-9468

Publication Date

February 13, 2026

Volume

11

Issue

116

Start / End Page

eadz3933

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • env Gene Products, Human Immunodeficiency Virus
  • Simian immunodeficiency virus
  • Simian Immunodeficiency Virus
  • Simian Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome
  • Macaca mulatta
  • Humans
  • HIV-1
  • HIV Infections
  • HIV Antibodies
  • B-Lymphocytes
 

Citation

APA
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MLA
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Habib, R., Roark, R. S., Li, H., Connell, A. J., Hogarty, M. P., Wagh, K., … Shaw, G. M. (2026). Env-antibody coevolution identifies B cell priming as the principal bottleneck to HIV V2 apex broadly neutralizing antibody development. Sci Immunol, 11(116), eadz3933. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciimmunol.adz3933
Habib, Rumi, Ryan S. Roark, Hui Li, Andrew Jesse Connell, Michael P. Hogarty, Kshitij Wagh, Shuyi Wang, et al. “Env-antibody coevolution identifies B cell priming as the principal bottleneck to HIV V2 apex broadly neutralizing antibody development.Sci Immunol 11, no. 116 (February 13, 2026): eadz3933. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciimmunol.adz3933.
Habib R, Roark RS, Li H, Connell AJ, Hogarty MP, Wagh K, et al. Env-antibody coevolution identifies B cell priming as the principal bottleneck to HIV V2 apex broadly neutralizing antibody development. Sci Immunol. 2026 Feb 13;11(116):eadz3933.
Habib, Rumi, et al. “Env-antibody coevolution identifies B cell priming as the principal bottleneck to HIV V2 apex broadly neutralizing antibody development.Sci Immunol, vol. 11, no. 116, Feb. 2026, p. eadz3933. Pubmed, doi:10.1126/sciimmunol.adz3933.
Habib R, Roark RS, Li H, Connell AJ, Hogarty MP, Wagh K, Wang S, Marchitto L, Skelly AN, Carey JW, Sowers KJ, Ayyanathan K, Plante SJ, Bibollet-Ruche F, Park Y, Agostino CJ, Singh A, Martella CL, Lewis E, Rando JM, Chohan N, Lora J, Ding W, Campion MS, Zhao C, Liu W, Li Y, Li X, Liang B, Chowdhury RR, Amereh K, Van Itallie E, Sheng Z, Ghosh AR, Bar KJ, Williams WB, Wiehe K, Saunders KO, Edwards RJ, Cain DW, Lewis MG, Batista FD, Burton DR, Andrabi R, Kulp DW, Haynes BF, Korber B, Shapiro L, Kwong PD, Hahn BH, Shaw GM. Env-antibody coevolution identifies B cell priming as the principal bottleneck to HIV V2 apex broadly neutralizing antibody development. Sci Immunol. 2026 Feb 13;11(116):eadz3933.

Published In

Sci Immunol

DOI

EISSN

2470-9468

Publication Date

February 13, 2026

Volume

11

Issue

116

Start / End Page

eadz3933

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • env Gene Products, Human Immunodeficiency Virus
  • Simian immunodeficiency virus
  • Simian Immunodeficiency Virus
  • Simian Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome
  • Macaca mulatta
  • Humans
  • HIV-1
  • HIV Infections
  • HIV Antibodies
  • B-Lymphocytes