HIV broadly neutralizing antibodies with enhanced Fc-CD16 affinity increase NK cell ADCC even with limited envelope binding

The persistence of latent HIV-1 reservoirs remains the primary barrier to a cure. Shock and kill strategies aim to reactivate these reservoirs and eliminate them via effector cells, such as Natural Killer (NK) cells. However, chronic infection leaves NK cells exhausted. In this study, we investigated the interplay between cytokine-mediated NK cell activation and antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) across diverse HIV-1 subtypes. We demonstrated that while cytokine stimulation enhanced natural cytotoxicity, it simultaneously induces shedding of the Fc receptor CD16 via the metalloproteinase enzyme ADAM17. However, restoring CD16 expression through ADAM17 inhibition (TAPI-1) did not improve ADCC, suggesting that CD16 surface levels in NK cells is not the only limiting factor. On the other hand, Fc-engineered broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs) with increased CD16 affinity, in particular LPLIL and GASDALIE, significantly enhance ADCC across the six different HIV-1 subtypes, regardless of NK cells activation, CD16 downregulation or limited surface Envelope expression in CD4T cells. These findings suggest that enhancing receptor affinity of bNAbs can bypass viral immune evasion and NK cell exhaustion, supporting their potential incorporation into HIV cure strategies.