Structure of the HIV-1 Env trimer. Ribbon representation of the viral spike trimer structure (without bound Abs) with three identical gp120 (red) and gp41 (blue) molecules and variable loop regions (V1–V4). Dotted lines indicate loop regions not fully resolved within the crystal structures. The structure of the native cleaved trimeric Env, BG505 SOSIP.664, bound to several neutralizing Abs, has been solved by both cryo-electron microscopy19 and X-ray crystallography18,20. Image adapted from ref. 20, Nature Publishing Group.