Duke Center for HIV Structural Biology Relationship

Project 2 and Immunobiology Core Primary Investigator: B cell antigen receptor structure and HIV Envelope-BCR interaction dynamics

The overall goals of the project are to define BCR structures with specificity of different classes of HIV antibodies and to determine how Envelope trimer binding (1) induces conformational changes that result in a signaling-competent state, and (2) to determine the structural dynamics of BCR interactions with HIV Envelope epitopes that lead to optimal signaling for cell activation and proliferation, and subsequently to MHC class II peptide (pMHC-II) presentation for CD4 T-help (Immunobiology Core).