[HTML][HTML] Mucosal antibody responses to vaccines targeting SIV protease cleavage sites or full-length Gag and Env proteins in Mauritian cynomolgus macaques

H Li, Y Hai, SY Lim, N Toledo, J Crecente-Campo… - PLoS …, 2018 - journals.plos.org
H Li, Y Hai, SY Lim, N Toledo, J Crecente-Campo, D Schalk, L Li, RW Omange, TG Dacoba
PLoS One, 2018journals.plos.org
HIV mutates rapidly and infects CD4+ T cells, especially when they are activated. A vaccine
targeting conserved, essential viral elements while limiting CD4+ T cell activation could be
effective. Learning from natural immunity observed in a group of highly HIV-1 exposed
seronegative Kenyan female sex workers, we are testing a novel candidate HIV vaccine
targeting the 12 viral protease cleavage sites (PCSs)(the PCS vaccine), in comparison with
a vaccine targeting full-length Gag and Env (the Gag/Env vaccine) in a Mauritian …
HIV mutates rapidly and infects CD4+ T cells, especially when they are activated. A vaccine targeting conserved, essential viral elements while limiting CD4+ T cell activation could be effective. Learning from natural immunity observed in a group of highly HIV-1 exposed seronegative Kenyan female sex workers, we are testing a novel candidate HIV vaccine targeting the 12 viral protease cleavage sites (PCSs) (the PCS vaccine), in comparison with a vaccine targeting full-length Gag and Env (the Gag/Env vaccine) in a Mauritian cynomolgus macaque/SIV model. In this study we evaluated these vaccines for induction of mucosal antibodies to SIV immunogens at the female genital tract. Bio-Plex and Western blot analyses of cervicovaginal lavage samples showed that both the PCS and Gag/Env vaccines can elicit mucosal IgG antibody responses to SIV immunogens. Significantly higher increase of anti-PCS antibodies was induced by the PCS vaccine than by the Gag/Env vaccine (p<0.0001). The effect of the mucosal antibody responses in protection from repeated low dose pathogenic SIVmac251 challenges is being evaluated.
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