Design and Pre-Clinical Evaluation of a Universal HIV-1 Vaccine

BACKGROUND: One of the big roadblocks in development of HIV-1/AIDS vaccines is the enormous diversity of HIV-1, which could limit the value of any HIV-1 vaccine candidate currently under test. METHODOLOGY AND FINDINGS: To address the HIV-1 variation, we designed a novel T cell immunogen, designated HIV(CONSV), by assembling the 14 most conserved regions of the HIV-1 proteome into one chimaeric protein. Each segment is a consensus sequence from one of the four major HIV-1 clades A, B, C and D, which alternate to ensure equal clade coverage. The gene coding for the HIV(CONSV) protein was inserted into the three most studied vaccine vectors, plasmid DNA, human adenovirus serotype 5 and modified vaccine virus Ankara (MVA), and induced HIV-1-specific T cell responses in mice. We also demonstrated that these conserved regions prime CD8(+) and CD4(+) T cell to highly conserved epitopes in humans and that these epitopes, although usually subdominant, generate memory T cells in patients during natural HIV-1 infection. SIGNIFICANCE: Therefore, this vaccine approach provides an attractive and testable alternative for overcoming the HIV-1 variability, while focusing T cell responses on regions of the virus that are less likely to mutate and escape. Furthermore, this approach has merit in the simplicity of design and delivery, requiring only a single immunogen to provide extensive coverage of global HIV-1 population diversity

Herpes simplex virus type 2 tegument proteins contain subdominant T-cell epitopes detectable in BALB/c mice after DNA immunization and infection

Cytotoxic T cells are important in controlling herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) reactivation and peripheral lesion resolution. Humans latently infected with HSV-2 have cytotoxic T cells directed against epitopes present in tegument proteins. Studies in mice of immunity to HSV have commonly focused on immunodominant responses in HSV envelope glycoproteins. These antigens have not proved to be an effective prophylactic vaccine target for most of the human population. The murine immune response against HSV tegument proteins has not been explored. We analysed cellular responses in BALB/c mice directed against the tegument proteins encoded by UL46, UL47 and UL49 and against the envelope glycoprotein gD after DNA vaccination or HSV-2 infection. After DNA vaccination, the splenocyte T-cell response to overlapping peptides from UL46 and UL47 was more than 500 gamma interferon spot-forming units per 106 responder cells. Peptide truncation studies, responder cell fractionation and major histocompatibility complex binding studies identified several CD8+ and CD4+ epitopes. Cellular responses to tegument protein epitopes were also detected after HSV-2 infection. Tegument proteins are rational candidates for further HSV-2 vaccine research

The Dover, Okla., News

Weekly newspaper from Dover, Oklahoma that includes local, territorial, and national news along with advertising