Study finds unique HIV vaccine formula elicits strong immune... (t effort performed under contract to the...)

Study finds unique HIV vaccine formula elicits strong immune responses

Date:5/22/2008

t effort, performed under contract to the NIAID.

One unique design underlying this combination HIV vaccine formulation is the use of a cocktail of five different envelope (Env) proteins collected from HIV viruses circulating in different parts of the world. Env is a key protective antigen and the goal was to elicit broad antibody responses against a wide range of HIV viruses in order to counter the issue of frequent HIV mutations. Indeed, the high titer antibodies found in volunteers sera were able to recognize each of a very diverse group of Env antigens that were included in this study. More significantly, the majority of volunteers developed positive neutralizing antibodies against a good portion of the five HIV subtypes included in the assay.

Shan Lu, MD, PhD, professor of medicine and biochemistry & molecular pharmacology at the University of Massachusetts Medical School and the co- Principal Investigator (co-PI) of the vaccine development program, describes the finding of neutralizing antibodies in this study as a major step forward.

Previously, we didnt know where to start. The neutralizing antibody titers in our study are still relatively low, but, these results are promising and open the door for future efforts to optimize HIV vaccine formulations in order to achieve a protective HIV vaccine, said Dr. Lu.

The dominant approaches in the current HIV vaccine field rely on viral vector-based delivery systems, an approach that produced disappointing results in a recent efficacy trial. Drs. Markham and Lu believe their HIV vaccine strategy will offer an alternative approach to focus on the induction of protective antibodies for HIV vaccine development, while maintaining strong cell-mediated immune responses. In addition to NIH, the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) also provided funding support to part of the study. Researchers from Duke University Medical School also participated, as did Dr. Paul Goepfert at
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Contact: Office of Public Affairs
public.affairs@umassmed.edu
508-856-2000
University of Massachusetts Medical School
Source:Eurekalert

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