Optimisation of adeno-associated viral vectors for prolonged in vivo expression of a highly potent bi-specific neutralising antibody against HIV
Grant Data
Project Title
Optimisation of adeno-associated viral vectors for prolonged in vivo expression of a highly potent bi-specific neutralising antibody against HIV
Principal Investigator
Professor Chen, Zhiwei
(Principal Investigator (PI))
Co-Investigator(s)
Professor Zhang Haoji
(Co-Investigator)
Duration
42
Start Date
2020-09-01
Amount
1499832
Conference Title
Optimisation of adeno-associated viral vectors for prolonged in vivo expression of a highly potent bi-specific neutralising antibody against HIV
Keywords
Adeno-associated virus, Broadly neutralizing antibody, HIV
Discipline
Others - Medicine, Dentistry and Health
HKU Project Code
19180672
Grant Type
Health and Medical Research Fund - Full Grant
Funding Year
2019
Status
On-going
Objectives
Developing potent therapeutics for long-term viral suppression without anti-retroviral therapy represents a novel approach against HIV-1. We recently developed a potent bi-specific broadly neutralising antibody, namely BiIA, which neutralises diverse HIV-1 subtypes. Muscle-directed BiIA gene transfer using adeno-associated virus (AAV) suppresses HIV replication in immunodeficient humanised mice. However, this AAV-based strategy elicits anti-vector and anti-BiIA immunity in immunocompetent hosts, preventing long-term BiIA expression. Here, we aim to optimise the AAV technology to prolong BiIA expression for better AIDS virus control.