Antibody Fab-Fc properties outperform titer in predictive models of SIV vaccine-induced protection

Mol Syst Biol. 2019 May 2;15(5):e8747. doi: 10.15252/msb.20188747.

Abstract

Characterizing the antigen-binding and innate immune-recruiting properties of the humoral response offers the chance to obtain deeper insights into mechanisms of protection than revealed by measuring only overall antibody titer. Here, a high-throughput, multiplexed Fab-Fc Array was employed to profile rhesus macaques vaccinated with a gp120-CD4 fusion protein in combination with different genetically encoded adjuvants, and subsequently subjected to multiple heterologous simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) challenges. Systems analyses modeling protection and adjuvant differences using Fab-Fc Array measurements revealed a set of correlates yielding strong and robust predictive performance, while models based on measurements of response magnitude alone exhibited significantly inferior performance. At the same time, rendering Fab-Fc measurements mathematically independent of titer had relatively little impact on predictive performance. Similar analyses for a distinct SIV vaccine study also showed that Fab-Fc measurements performed significantly better than titer. These results suggest that predictive modeling with measurements of antibody properties can provide detailed correlates with robust predictive power, suggest directions for vaccine improvement, and potentially enable discovery of mechanistic associations.

Keywords: HIV; antibody effector function; biomarker identification; protection modeling; systems serology.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Antibodies, Viral / immunology*
  • CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / cytology
  • Humans
  • Immunity, Humoral
  • Immunoglobulin Fragments / immunology*
  • Immunoglobulin G / immunology
  • Macaca mulatta
  • Membrane Glycoproteins / immunology
  • Multivariate Analysis
  • SAIDS Vaccines / immunology*
  • Simian Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / prevention & control*
  • Simian Immunodeficiency Virus / immunology*
  • Viral Envelope Proteins / immunology

Substances

  • Antibodies, Viral
  • Immunoglobulin Fragments
  • Immunoglobulin G
  • Membrane Glycoproteins
  • SAIDS Vaccines
  • Viral Envelope Proteins
  • gp120 protein, Simian immunodeficiency virus