Christina Ochsenbauer

Christina Ochsenbauer
Associate Professor

Scientist (C), Center for AIDS Research , School of Medicine
Associate Professor (P), Medicine - Hematology & Oncology , Department of Medicine

Overview

Dr. Ochsenbauer pursued HIV research since her doctoral thesis at the German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg. She came to UAB for postdoctoral training in molecular retrovirology with Dr. Eric Hunter. Over the last decade, she focused on questions pertinent to HIV-1 transmission She contributed several novel, highly relevant virologic reagents to the HIV prevention field, including the first infectious molecular clones that represent nucleotide exact copies of transmitted/founder (T/F) viruses, developed to link genetic analyses of T/F HIV-1 genomes with their biologic characteristics; and implementation of innovative, broadly applicable HIV-1/SIV reporter virus approaches to facilitate studies of HIV-1 transmission and prevention. In part through her work directing the Molecular Virology Core of the CAVD Comprehensive Antibody Vaccine Immunomonitoring Consortium, these technologies underpin development of next-generation HIV immunomonitoring assays, including neutralization, (primary) cell- and tissue explant-based virus inhibition (e.g. CD8 VIA, ADCC) assays, as well as various transmission-related research activities, including those of mucosal HIV-1 transmission in the female reproductive tract. Dr. Ochsenbauer also served as co-director of the UAB CFAR Virology Core. Her work is funded by CAVD, IAVI, and NIH (through R21, R01, CHAVI, P01 mechanisms).

Selected Publications

Academic Article

Year	Title	Altmetric
2021	Rectal tissue and vaginal tissue from intravenous VRC01 recipients show protection against ex vivo HIV-1 challenge. Journal of Clinical Investigation. 131. 2021
2021	Buprenorphine increases HIV-1 infection in vitro but does not reactivate HIV-1 from latency. Viruses. 13. 2021
2021	Elevated HIV infection of CD4 T cells in MRKAd5 vaccine recipients due to CD8 T cells targeting adapted epitopes. Journal of Virology. 95. 2021
2020	Author Correction: Sex-specific innate immune selection of HIV-1 in utero is associated with increased female susceptibility to infection (Nature Communications, (2020), 11, 1, (1767), 10.1038/s41467-020-15632-y). Nature Communications. 11. 2020
2020	Sex-specific innate immune selection of HIV-1 in utero is associated with increased female susceptibility to infection. Nature Communications. 11. 2020
2020	Accumulated mutations by 6 months of infection collectively render transmitted/founder HIV-1 significantly less fit. Journal of Infection. 80:210-218. 2020
2019	Antibody-Dependent Cellular Cytotoxicity (ADCC)-Mediating Antibodies Constrain Neutralizing Antibody Escape Pathway. Frontiers in Immunology. 10. 2019
2019	Primary HIV-1 strains use nef to downmodulate HLA-E surface expression. Journal of Virology. 93. 2019
2019	Erratum: HIV-1 Neutralizing Antibody Signatures and Application to Epitope-Targeted Vaccine Design (Cell Host & Microbe (2019) 25(1)(59–72.e8)(S1931-3128(18)30599-7)(10.1016/j.chom.2018.12.001)). Cell Host and Microbe. 26:296. 2019
2019	Multispecific anti-HIV duoCAR-T cells display broad in vitro antiviral activity and potent in vivo elimination of HIV-infected cells in a humanized mouse model. Science Translational Medicine. 11. 2019
2019	HIV-1 Neutralizing Antibody Signatures and Application to Epitope-Targeted Vaccine Design. Cell Host and Microbe. 25:59-72.e8. 2019
2019	Longitudinal bioluminescent imaging of HIV-1 infection during antiretroviral therapy and treatment interruption in humanized mice. PLoS Pathogens. 15. 2019
2018	Neutrophil extracellular traps prevent HIV infection in the female genital tract. Mucosal Immunology. 11:1420-1428. 2018
2018	Incomplete downregulation of CD4 expression affects HIV-1 Env conformation and antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity responses.. Journal of Virology. 92. 2018
2017	Potent in vivo NK cellmediated elimination of HIV-1-infected cells mobilized by a gp120-bispecific and hexavalent broadly neutralizing fusion protein. Journal of Virology. 91. 2017
2017	Mass Cytometric Analysis of HIV Entry, Replication, and Remodeling in Tissue CD4+ T Cells. Cell Reports. 20:984-998. 2017
2017	Characterization of immune cells and infection by HIV in human ovarian tissues. American Journal of Reproductive Immunology. 78. 2017
2017	CD4 regulatory T cells augment HIV-1 expression of polarized M1 and M2 monocyte derived macrophages. Virology. 504:79-87. 2017
2017	Dendritic cells from the human female reproductive tract rapidly capture and respond to HIV. Mucosal Immunology. 10:531-544. 2017
2017	Mucosal stromal fibroblasts markedly enhance HIV infection of CD4+ T cells. PLoS Pathogens. 13. 2017
2017	The transcriptome of HIV-1 infected intestinal CD4+ T cells exposed to enteric bacteria. PLoS Pathogens. 13. 2017
2016	Neutralization Takes Precedence Over IgG or IgA Isotype-related Functions in Mucosal HIV-1 Antibody-mediated Protection. EBioMedicine. 14:97-111. 2016
2016	Superior efficacy of a human immunodeficiency virus vaccine combined with antiretroviral prevention in simian-human immunodeficiency virus-challenged nonhuman primates. Journal of Virology. 90:5315-5328. 2016
2016	Characterization of simian immunodeficiency virus variants anatomically compartmentalized in plasma and milk in chronically infected African green monkeys. Journal of Virology. 90:8795-8808. 2016
2016	High-throughput humanized mouse models for evaluation of HIV-1 therapeutics and pathogenesis. Methods in Molecular Biology. 1354:221-235. 2016
2015	Dual-Affinity Re-Targeting proteins direct T cell-mediated cytolysis of latently HIV-infected cells. Journal of Clinical Investigation. 125:4077-4090. 2015
2015	Potent functional antibody responses elicited by HIV-I DNA priming and boosting with heterologous HIV-1 recombinant MVA in healthy tanzanian adults. PLoS ONE. 10. 2015
2015	Association of HIV-1 envelope-specific breast milk IgA responses with reduced risk of postnatal mother-to-child transmission of HIV-1. Journal of Virology. 89:9952-9961. 2015
2015	In vivo activation of human NK cells by treatment with an interleukin-15 superagonist potently inhibits acute in vivo HIV-1 infection in humanized mice. Journal of Virology. 89:6264-6274. 2015
2015	The vaginal acquisition and dissemination of HIV-1 infection in a novel transgenic mouse model is facilitated by coinfection with herpes simplex virus 2 and is inhibited by microbicide treatment. Journal of Virology. 89:9559-9570. 2015
2014	Macrophage infection via selective capture of HIV-1-infected CD4⁺ T cells. Cell Host and Microbe. 16:711-721. 2014
2014	Global panel of HIV-1 env reference strains for standardized assessments of vaccine-elicited neutralizing antibodies. Journal of Virology. 88:2489-2507. 2014
2014	High-multiplicity HIV-1 infection and neutralizing antibody evasion mediated by the macrophage-T cell virological synapse. Journal of Virology. 88:2025-2034. 2014
2014	Casp8p41 generated by HIV protease kills CD4 T cells through direct Bak activation 2014
2014	Correction to Casp8p41 generated by HIV protease kills CD4 T cells through direct Bak activation [Journal of Cell Biology, 206, 7, (2014), 867-876] 2014
2014	Development of a luciferase based viral inhibition assay to evaluate vaccine induced CD8 T-cell responses. Journal of Immunological Methods. 409:161-173. 2014
2014	Innate Immunity in the Vagina (Part II): Anti-HIV Activity and Antiviral Content of Human Vaginal Secretions. American Journal of Reproductive Immunology. 72:22-33. 2014
2014	Optimization and validation of a neutralizing antibody assay for HIV-1 in A3R5 cells. Journal of Immunological Methods. 409:147-160. 2014
2014	Synergy in monoclonal antibody neutralization of HIV-1 pseudoviruses and infectious molecular clones. Journal of Translational Medicine. 12. 2014
2013	Relative resistance of HIV-1 founder viruses to control by interferon-alpha. Retrovirology. 10. 2013
2013	Impact of HIV-1 backbone on neutralization sensitivity: Neutralization profiles of heterologous envelope glycoproteins expressed in native subtype C and CRF01-AE backbone. PLoS ONE. 8. 2013
2013	Detection of HIV-1 neutralizing antibodies in a human CD4 ⁺/CXCR4⁺/CCR5⁺ T-lymphoblastoid cell assay system. PLoS ONE. 8. 2013
2013	Bispecific antibodies directed to CD4 domain 2 and HIV envelope exhibit exceptional breadth and picomolar potency against HIV-1 2013
2013	Infectious virion capture by HIV-1 gp120-specific IgG from RV144 vaccinees. Journal of Virology. 87:7828-7836. 2013
2013	Mice Transgenic for CD4-Specific Human CD4, CCR5 and Cyclin T1 Expression: A New Model for Investigating HIV-1 Transmission and Treatment Efficacy. PLoS ONE. 8. 2013
2013	Phenotypic properties of transmitted founder HIV-1 2013
2013	Estradiol Reduces Susceptibility of CD4⁺ T Cells and Macrophages to HIV-Infection. PLoS ONE. 8. 2013
2013	Postnatally-transmitted HIV-1 Envelope variants have similar neutralization-sensitivity and function to that of nontransmitted breast milk variants. Retrovirology. 10. 2013
2013	Mucosal tissue tropism and dissemination of HIV-1 subtype B acute envelope-expressing chimeric virus. Journal of Virology. 87:890-899. 2013
2012	HIV-1 Expressing the Envelopes of Transmitted/Founder or Control/Reference Viruses Have Similar Infection Patterns of CD4 T-Cells in Human Cervical Tissue Ex Vivo. PLoS ONE. 7. 2012
2012	Antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity against primary hivinfected CD4 ⁺ T cells is directly associated with the magnitude of surface igg binding. Journal of Virology. 86:8672-8680. 2012
2012	Magnitude and breadth of the neutralizing antibody response in the RV144 and Vax003 HIV-1 vaccine efficacy trials. Journal of Infectious Diseases. 206:431-441. 2012
2012	Initial HIV-1 antigen-specific CD8⁺ T cells in acute HIV-1 infection inhibit transmitted/founder virus replication. Journal of Virology. 86:6835-6846. 2012
2012	Selective impact of HIV disease progression on the innate immune system in the human female reproductive tract. PLoS ONE. 7. 2012
2012	Transmitted/founder and chronic subtype C HIV-1 use CD4 and CCR5 receptors with equal efficiency and are not inhibited by blocking the integrin α4β7. PLoS Pathogens. 8. 2012
2012	The role of natural killer (NK) cells and nk cell receptor polymorphisms in the assessment of HIV-1 neutralization. PLoS ONE. 7. 2012
2012	Generation of transmitted/founder HIV-1 infectious molecular clones and characterization of their replication capacity in CD4 T lymphocytes and monocyte-derived macrophages. Journal of Virology. 86:2715-2728. 2012
2011	Dynamic antibody specificities and virion concentrations in circulating immune complexes in acute to chronic HIV-1 infection. Journal of Virology. 85:11196-11207. 2011
2011	High-throughput quantitative analysis of HIV-1 and SIV-specific ADCC-mediating antibody responses 2011
2011	An HIV-1 gp120 envelope human monoclonal antibody that recognizes a C1 conformational epitope mediates potent antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) activity and defines a common ADCC epitope in human HIV-1 serum. Journal of Virology. 85:7029-7036. 2011
2011	Stromal down-regulation of macrophage CD4/CCR5 expression and NF-κB activation mediates HIV-1 non-permissiveness in intestinal macrophages. PLoS Pathogens. 7. 2011
2010	Replication competent molecular clones of HIV-1 expressing Renilla luciferase facilitate the analysis of antibody inhibition in PBMC. Virology. 408:1-13. 2010
2010	Uterine epithelial cell regulation of DC-SIGN expression inhibits transmitted/founder HIV-1 trans infection by immature dendritic cells. PLoS ONE. 5. 2010
2010	Anti-HIV activity in cervical-vaginal secretions from HIV-Positive and -Negative women correlate with innate antimicrobial levels and IgG antibodies. PLoS ONE. 5. 2010
2010	Phenotypic and functional profile of HIV-inhibitory CD8 T cells elicited by natural infection and heterologous prime/boost vaccination. Journal of Virology. 84:4998-5006. 2010
2010	Anti-phospholipid human monoclonal antibodies inhibit CCR5-tropic HIV-1 and induce β-chemokines. Journal of Experimental Medicine. 207:763-776. 2010
2010	GP41-specific antibody blocks cell-free HIV type 1 transcytosis through human rectal mucosa and model colonic epithelium. Journal of Immunology. 184:3648-3655. 2010
2010	Loss of DNAM-1 contributes to CD8⁺ T-cell exhaustion in chronic HIV-1 infection. European Journal of Immunology. 40:949-954. 2010
2009	Tetherin-Driven Adaptation of Vpu and Nef Function and the Evolution of Pandemic and Nonpandemic HIV-1 Strains. Cell Host and Microbe. 6:409-421. 2009
2009	P04-12. Characterization of leukopak PBMC phenotypes and biotypes for optimal performance in HIV-1 neutralization assays. Retrovirology. 6. 2009
2009	P04-23. HIV-1 neutralization is impacted by the PBMC donor used for both virus growth and target cells, and the effects are neutralization reagent-specific. Retrovirology. 6. 2009
2009	P05-04. Neutralizing antibodies induced by immunization with liposomal gp41 peptide simultaneously bind to both the 2F5 or 4E10 epitope and lipid epitopes. Retrovirology. 6. 2009
2009	P20-15. Evaluation of HIV-1 subtype B acute envelope-expressing infectious molecular clones. Retrovirology. 6. 2009
2009	S01-04 OA. Phenotypic analyses of CD8+ T cells that mediate virus inhibition from HIV-1 vaccinees and HIV-1+ virus controllers. Retrovirology. 6. 2009
2009	New virologic reagents for neutralizing antibody assays. Current Opinion in HIV and AIDS. 4:418-425. 2009
2009	Genetic identity, biological phenotype, and evolutionary pathways of transmitted/founder viruses in acute and early HIV-1 infection. Journal of Experimental Medicine. 206:1273-1289. 2009
2006	T-cell line for HIV drug screening using EGFP as a quantitative marker of HIV-1 replication 2006
2005	Intestinal macrophages: Unique effector cells of the innate immune system. Immunological Reviews. 206:149-159. 2005
2005	WNT1 and WNT3a promote expansion of melanocytes through distinct modes of action. Pigment Cell and Melanoma Research. 18:167-180. 2005
2002	Novel monoclonal antibody directed at the receptor binding site on the avian sarcoma and leukosis virus Env complex. Journal of Virology. 76:7518-7527. 2002
2001	Palmitoylation of the Rous sarcoma virus transmembrane glycoprotein is required for protein stability and virus infectivity. Journal of Virology. 75:11544-11554. 2001
2000	The Rous sarcoma virus Env glycoprotein contains a highly conserved motif homologous to tyrosine-based endocytosis signals and displays an unusual internalization phenotype. Molecular and Cellular Biology. 20:249-260. 2000
1997	Complement activation by HIV-1-infected cells: The role of transmembrane glycoprotein gp41 1997
1997	Analysis of vif-defective human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) virions synthesized in 'non-permissive' T lymphoid cells stably infected with selectable HIV-1. Journal of General Virology. 78:627-635. 1997
1996	Unimpaired function of a naturally occurring C terminally truncated vif gene product of human immunodeficiency virus type 1. Journal of General Virology. 77:1389-1395. 1996
1995	Sensitization of T cells to CD95-mediated apoptosis by HIV-1 Tat and gp120. Nature. 375:497-500. 1995
1993	Analysis of protein expression and virus-like particle formation in mammalian cell lines stably expressing HIV-1 gag and env gene products with or without active HIV proteinase. Virology. 192:605-617. 1993

Research Overview

My research focuses on HIV-1 as it relates to mucosal transmission and vaccine development. Much of my work since 2006 occurs in the context of large international consortia (CHAVI, CAVD, IAVI) aimed at HIV-1 vaccine discovery. My goal is:
(i) To elucidate characteristics of transmitted (‘founder’) HIV-1 infection in vitro, ex vivo of mucosal tissue cells and explants as a surrogate of HIV-1 mucosal transmission, and, recently, in an in vivo mouse as well as non-human primate model.
(ii) To augment vaccine discovery efforts by developing broadly applicable virologic technology and biologically relevant assay systems that underpin novel immune monitoring assays and facilitates transmission related studies.