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Antibodies as taught by viral pathogens, especially HIV

Published on January 28, 2026   59 min

A selection of talks on Immunology

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0:00
My name is Dennis Burton from Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California, United States. I'd like to talk about antibodies as taught by viral pathogens, especially HIV. What I mean by that is that we've spent a lot of time studying the interplay of antibodies and this highly mutating virus, HIV. I think we've learned quite a lot about antibodies that we did not necessarily know or fully realize previously.
0:39
I consider that, in terms of antibodies to pathogens, there have been a number of generations and we're now, I would argue, on the fourth generation. The first generation was immune sera against bacterial toxins, particularly diphtheria, tetanus, that was used to treat bacterial diseases, and this earned the very first Nobel Prize in Medicine and Physiology for von Behring, and subsequent generations have led to greater refinement, in terms of the antibody preparations. The second generation was polyclonal antibody preparations that were very successfully used for viral prophylaxis. For example, against hepatitis B, respiratory syncytial virus, and, importantly, post-exposure prophylaxis, e.g., against rabies. Then further refinement. The third generation was monoclonal antibodies, and these, of course, first in mouse, then humanized mouse antibodies, and then fully human antibodies. They've been used for a wide range of therapeutic applications, including viral prophylaxis, where the signature antibody was against RSV-Synagis. Now, I think we have arrived at the fourth generation, which we have termed super-antibodies, which are monoclonal antibodies of quite outstanding potency and/or cross-reactivity. We give them a nomination as a new generation. They can do things that, say, regular monoclonal antibodies could not, so we consider them to be a considerable advance.

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Antibodies as taught by viral pathogens, especially HIV

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