Expansion and targeted maturation of germline HIV-1 bNAb-associated BCRs
The objective of this grant is to investigate the relationship between the relative frequencies of target B cells and the binding affinity of the immunogen with the expansion and maturation of the target B cells in polyclonal immune system in vivo. In this grant, we are investigating a new immunization concept that is based on the utilization of anti-idiotypic antibodies against the germline form of targeted BCRs as tools to specifically expand naïve B cells that express such BCRs, focusing on VRC01-class BCRs.