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Vaccines and the induction of functional antibodies: Time to look beyond the molecules of natural infection?

Nature Medicine volume 6, pages 123–125 (2000)Cite this article

Abstract

Infection with some pathogens induces weak functional antibody responses that are non-protective, and there has been some skepticism about a role for antibodies in vaccine design. However, newer data show that antibodies can protect against infection with these pathogens, and new methods to elicit production of functional antibodies should be sought.

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Figure 1: The HIV-1 glycoprotein gp120 minimizes the exposure of protein surface to antibody recognition on the envelope spike on the surface of the virion.

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Acknowledgements

We thank R. Chanock, F. Chisari, J. Mascola, J. Moore and P. Poignard for comments on the manuscript. We acknowledge the financial support of the National Institutes of Health.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departments of Immunology and Molecular Biology The Scripps Research Institute, 10550 North Torrey Pines Rd, La Jolla, 92037, California, USA

    Dennis R. Burton & Paul W.H.I. Parren

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  1. Dennis R. Burton
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  2. Paul W.H.I. Parren
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Burton, D., Parren, P. Vaccines and the induction of functional antibodies: Time to look beyond the molecules of natural infection?. Nat Med 6, 123–125 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1038/72200

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