The XbnAb Cohort: 304 people with broadly neutralizing antibody activity to HIV-1

Broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs) recognizing a diversity of HIV-1 strains are widely thought to be essential for an HIV-1 vaccine. Extensive knowledge on bnAbs has been gained from studying natural HIV infection by following bnAb evolution in individual people with HIV (PWH). However, it remains essential to increase knowledge of bnAb responses in large PWH cohorts to assess the feasibility of inducing bnAb activity by vaccination. To allow a systematic analysis, we created the XbnAb cohort, a large bnAb-inducer cohort selected by screening plasma of PWH enrolled in the Swiss HIV Cohort Study (SHCS) and the Zurich Primary HIV Infection Study (ZPHI). The XbnAb cohort represents a retrospective, biobank-based cohort comprising data of 304 PWH who developed bnAb activity during HIV-1 infection. Here, we report on the characteristics of the XbnAb cohort and its potential for HIV vaccine research.