Patent ID: 7402396

Claim:
A method of identifying an antibody that inhibits the HIV membrane fusion machinery by inhibiting interactions between the N36 peptide trimer and the C34 peptide trimer of HIV gp41, comprising: (a) combining HIV gp41 N36 peptide trimer, HIVgp41 C34 peptide trimer and an antibody to be assessed for its ability to inhibit interaction between the two trimers, to produce a combination; (b) maintaining the combination under conditions appropriate for interactions to occur between N36 peptide trimers and C34 peptide trimers; and (c) assessing whether interactions occurred between N36 peptide trimers and C34 peptide trimers, wherein if interactions between the N36 peptide trimer and the C34 peptide trimer did not occur in the presence of the antibody or occurred to a lesser extent in the presence of the antibody than in its absence, the antibody is an antibody that inhibits the HIV membrane fusion machinery.