# Defining criteria for broadly neutralizing HIV antibodies

## TL;DR

This paper discusses how to define antibodies that can neutralize many HIV strains and introduces a tool to find such antibodies.

## Contribution

The paper introduces a web-based tool called CAByN to identify broadly neutralizing HIV antibodies based on user-defined criteria.

## Key findings

- CAByN reveals differences in antibody neutralization across HIV viral clades.
- Some antibodies may not fully neutralize viruses, as identified by CAByN.

## Abstract

Over the course of a few years, a small percentage of individuals with HIV-1 develop broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs) capable of neutralizing diverse viruses. Although hundreds of antibodies with neutralizing activity against heterologous viruses have been referred to as bnAbs, there is no universally accepted numerical definition of a bnAb. Here, we will review important elements of HIV neutralizing antibodies and proposed definitions of bnAbs, as well as introduce a web-based tool, CAByN (Choose Antibodies by Neutralization), allowing users to identify antibodies meeting their numerical definitions of a bnAb from data in the Los Alamos HIV Databases CATNAP (Compile, Analyze and Tally NAb Panels) antibody neutralization database. Biological findings from use of CAByN are also presented here, including differential neutralizing activity for certain antibodies across viral clades, and identification of antibodies with suspected incomplete neutralization. Website address: http://hiv.lanl.gov/content/sequence/CABYN/CABYN.html.