Implications from the SIV model in understanding HIV neutralization

Abstract

HIV has killed more than 25 million people since it was first recognized in 1981, making it one of the most destructive epidemics in recorded history. Despite recent, improved access to antiretroviral treatment and care in many regions of the world, the AIDS epidemic still claims millions of lives each year. To control the epidemic it is mandatory to develop a vaccine(s). Furthermore, vaccines may conceivably corroborate the effect of antiretroviral drugs, thereby providing alternative therapies. However, we still do not know the type of immune response needed for protection from infection or, importantly, protection from disease. Experimental SIV infection of macaques serves as a tool to analyze the neutralizing antibody response in acute infection as well as the control of virus in chronic infection. In this review we will discuss the accumulated knowledge on neutralization in the SIV model and compare HIV infection in humans and SIV infection in macaques.