Discovery in 1988 that antibodies blocking HIV infection target a highly variable part of the outside of the AIDS virus (the so-called V3 loop) indicating that making an AIDS vaccine will not be easy (PNAS, 1988). In 1992 we showed that the most aggressive sort of HIV strains causing AIDS most rapidly so- called SI strains of HIV) had very specific changes only and exclusively in the V3 loop (De Jong, J Virol, 1992).
Publications:
GOUDSMIT, J., DEBOUCK, C., MELOEN, R.H., SMIT, L., BAKKER, M., ASHER, D.M., WOLFF, A.V., GIBBS, C.J., JR., and GAJDUSEK, D.C. (1988).
Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 neutralization epitope with conserved architecture elicits early type-specific antibodies in experimentally infected chimpanzees.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 85 (12): 4478-4482.
PubMed publication date: Jun, 1988.
PubMed link to abstract: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2454471
PDF: PNAS_1988_85_12_4478_Goudsmit
JONG, J.J. de, RONDE, A. de, KEULEN, W., TERSMETTE, M.,
and GOUDSMIT, J. (1992).
Minimal requirements for the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 V3 domain to support the syncytium-inducing phenotype: analysis by single amino acid substitution.
J Virol 66 (11): 6777-6780.
PubMed publication date: Nov, 1992
PubMed link to abstract: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1404617
PDF: J Virol_1992_66_11_6777_Jong