Epitope Switching as a Novel Escape Mechanism of HIV to CCR5 Monoclonal Antibodies

In passaging experiments, we isolated HIV strains resistant to MAb3952, a chemokine (C-C motif) receptor 5 (CCR5) monoclonal antibody (MAb) that binds to the second extracellular domain (extracellular loop 2 [ECL-2]) of CCR5. MAb3952-resistant viruses remain CCR5-tropic and are cross-resistant to a second ECL-2-specific antibody. Surprisingly, MAb3952-resistant viruses were more susceptible to RoAb13, a CCR5 antibody binding to the N terminus of CCR5. Using CCR5 receptor mutants, we show that MAb3952-resistant virus strains preferentially use the N terminus of CCR5, while the wild-type viruses preferentially use ECL-2. We propose this switch in the CCR5 binding site as a novel mechanism of HIV resistance.