The STEP HIV-1 vaccine trial failed to protect volunteers from infection, but whether vaccine-driven immune responses affected the profile of viral variants in infected individuals was unknown. By analyzing nucleotide sequences and predicted T cell epitopes in viruses from newly infected trial participants, Rolland et al. now report that the degree of viral divergence from vaccine-encoded inserts suggests that vaccine-induced T cell responses indeed influenced the viral repertoire, a finding that might be harnessed in future vaccine design.
- Morgane Rolland
- Sodsai Tovanabutra
- James I Mullins
