HIVRAD: Defense-in-depth Against Mucosal HIV clade C Invasion

The Hope Lab will work to gain mechanistic insights into the underlying ability of antibody combinations to inhibit rectal acquisition in the rhesus macaque model, we will utilize our toolbox of microscopy-based reagents to determine how acquisition is decreased or blocked. These tools allow us to directly examine the major components of the vaccine virus interaction at the mucosal surface including the labeling of antibodies, virus, and target cells, all in the proper anatomical configuration of the rectal compartment of a living animal. For example, we will determine the percentage of IgG at the rectal mucosa that is either generated systemically or locally. We will produce virus and viral vectors to be used in the animal challenge models. We will image the samples utilizing deconvolution microscopy and PCR the tissue samples to determine sites of infection.