HIV Env-specific nonneutralizing Abs (NnAbs) able to mediate ADCC have been implicated in protection from HIV infection. However, Env-specific NnAbs have the capacity to support ADCC of both HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected bystander cells, potentially leading to misinterpretations when the assay used to measure ADCC does not distinguish between the two target cell types present in HIV cultures. Using a novel ADCC assay, which simultaneously quantifies the killing activity of Env-specific Abs on both infected and uninfected bystander cells, we observed that only a minority of Env-specific Abs in HIV+ plasma mediated ADCC of genuinely HIV-infected cells displaying Env in its native closed conformation. This assay can be used for the development of vaccine strategies aimed at eliciting Env-specific Ab responses capable of controlling HIV infection.

Depression, a devastating psychiatric disorder, is a leading cause of disability worldwide. Current antidepressants address specific symptoms of the disease, but there is vast room for improvement . In this respect, new compounds that act beyond classical antidepressants to target signal transduction pathways governing synaptic plasticity and cellular resilience are highly warranted. The extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) pathway is implicated in mood regulation, but its pleiotropic functions and lack of target specificity prohibit optimal drug development. Here, we identified the transcription factor ELK-1, an ERK downstream partner , as a specific signaling module in the pathophysiology and treatment of depression that can be targeted independently of ERK. ELK1 mRNA was upregulated in postmortem hippocampal tissues from depressed suicides; in blood samples from depressed individuals, failure to reduce ELK1 expression was associated with resistance to treatment. In mice, hippocampal ELK-1 overexpression per se produced depressive behaviors; conversely, the selective inhibition of ELK-1 activation prevented depression-like molecular, plasticity and behavioral states induced by stress. Our work stresses the importance of target selectivity for a successful approach for signal-transduction-based antidepressants, singles out ELK-1 as a depression-relevant transducer downstream of ERK and brings proof-of-concept evidence for the druggability of ELK-1.