Antigenic structure of the HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein trimer

In this thesis we have evaluated the antigenicity and structure of the BG505 SOSIP.664 trimer but also its performance as an immunogen. The most important observation in this thesis is that we have shown that good antigenic mimics of the HIV-1 Env spike can be made and that they induce potent NAb responses against the autologous neutralization resistant Tier-2 virus, a result not obtained previously with other Env immunogens. These autologous NAb responses are believed to be a good starting point in the development of bNAbs. The BG505 SOSIP.664 trimer achieved this first goal in HIV-1 vaccine development and opens up new paths to design vaccines that induce potent bNAb responses. Ultimately, such research should lead to an effective HIV-1 vaccine.