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Akbari E, Seyedinkhorasani M, Bolhassani A. Conserved multiepitope vaccine constructs: A potent HIV-1 therapeutic vaccine in clinical trials. Braz J Infect Dis 2023; 27:102774. [PMID: 37156468 DOI: 10.1016/j.bjid.2023.102774] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2022] [Revised: 03/25/2023] [Accepted: 04/21/2023] [Indexed: 05/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Despite the success of Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) in preventing HIV-1-associated clinical progression to AIDS, it is unable to eliminate the viral reservoirs and eradicate the HIV-1 infection. Therapeutic vaccination is an alternative approach to alter the HIV-1 infection course. It can induce effective HIV-1-specific immunity to control viremia and eliminate the need for lifelong ART. Immunological data from spontaneous HIV-1 controllers have shown that cross-reactive T-cell responses are the key immune mechanism in HIV-1 control. Directing these responses toward preferred HIV-1 epitopes is a promising strategy in therapeutic vaccine settings. Designing novel immunogens based on the HIV-1 conserved regions containing a wide range of critical T- and B-cell epitopes of the main viral antigens (conserved multiepitope approaches) supplies broad coverage of global diversity in HIV-1 strains and Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) alleles. It can also prevent immune induction to undesirable decoy epitopes theoretically. The efficacy of different novel HIV-1 immunogens based on the conserved and/or functional protective site of HIV-1 proteome has been evaluated in multiple clinical trials. Most of these immunogens were generally safe and able to induce potent HIV-1-specific immunity. However, despite these findings, several candidates have demonstrated limited efficacy in viral replication control. In this study, we used the PubMed and ClinicalTrial.gov databases to review the rationale of designing curative HIV-1 vaccine immunogens based on the conserved favorable site of the virus. Most of these studies evaluate the efficacy of vaccine candidates in combination with other therapeutics and/or with new formulations and immunization protocols. This review briefly describes the design of conserved multiepitope constructs and outlines the results of these vaccine candidates in the recent clinical pipeline.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elahe Akbari
- Pasteur Institute of Iran, Department of Hepatitis and AIDS, Tehran, Iran
| | | | - Azam Bolhassani
- Pasteur Institute of Iran, Department of Hepatitis and AIDS, Tehran, Iran.
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Zhang B, Mao H, Zhu H, Guo J, Zhou P, Ma Z. Response to HIV-1 gp160-carrying recombinant virus HSV-1 and HIV-1 VLP combined vaccine in BALB/c mice. Front Microbiol 2023; 14:1136664. [PMID: 37007461 PMCID: PMC10063819 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1136664] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2023] [Accepted: 03/01/2023] [Indexed: 03/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) induced AIDS causes a large number of infections and deaths worldwide every year, still no vaccines are available to prevent infection. Recombinant herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) vector-based vaccines coding the target proteins of other pathogens have been widely used for disease control. Here, a recombinant virus with HIV-1 gp160 gene integration into the internal reverse (IR) region-deleted HSV-1 vector (HSV-BAC), was obtained by bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) technology, and its immunogenicity investigated in BALB/c mice. The result showed similar replication ability of the HSV-BAC-based recombinant virus and wild type. Furthermore, humoral and cellular immune response showed superiority of intraperitoneal (IP) administration, compared to intranasally (IN), subcutaneous (SC) and intramuscularly (IM), that evidenced by production of significant antibody and T cell responses. More importantly, in a prime-boost combination study murine model, the recombinant viruses prime followed by HIV-1 VLP boost induced stronger and broader immune responses than single virus or protein vaccination in a similar vaccination regimen. Antibody production was sufficient with huge potential for viral clearance, along with efficient T-cell activation, which were evaluated by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and flow cytometry (FC). Overall, these findings expose the value of combining different vaccine vectors and modalities to improve immunogenicity and breadth against different HIV-1 antigens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Beibei Zhang
- Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Biological Resources and Genetic Engineering, College of Life Science and Technology, Xinjiang University, Ürümqi, Xinjiang, China
| | - Hongyan Mao
- Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Biological Resources and Genetic Engineering, College of Life Science and Technology, Xinjiang University, Ürümqi, Xinjiang, China
| | - Hongjuan Zhu
- Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Biological Resources and Genetic Engineering, College of Life Science and Technology, Xinjiang University, Ürümqi, Xinjiang, China
| | - Jingxia Guo
- Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Biological Resources and Genetic Engineering, College of Life Science and Technology, Xinjiang University, Ürümqi, Xinjiang, China
| | - Paul Zhou
- Unit of Antiviral Immunity and Genetic Therapy, Key Laboratory of Molecular Virology and Immunology, Institut Pasteur of Shanghai, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
| | - Zhenghai Ma
- Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Biological Resources and Genetic Engineering, College of Life Science and Technology, Xinjiang University, Ürümqi, Xinjiang, China
- *Correspondence: Zhenghai Ma,
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Sahay B, Yamamoto JK. Lessons Learned in Developing a Commercial FIV Vaccine: The Immunity Required for an Effective HIV-1 Vaccine. Viruses 2018; 10:v10050277. [PMID: 29789450 PMCID: PMC5977270 DOI: 10.3390/v10050277] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2018] [Revised: 05/08/2018] [Accepted: 05/20/2018] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) vaccine called Fel-O-Vax® FIV is the first commercial FIV vaccine released worldwide for the use in domestic cats against global FIV subtypes (A⁻E). This vaccine consists of inactivated dual-subtype (A plus D) FIV-infected cells, whereas its prototype vaccine consists of inactivated dual-subtype whole viruses. Both vaccines in experimental trials conferred moderate-to-substantial protection against heterologous strains from homologous and heterologous subtypes. Importantly, a recent case-control field study of Fel-O-Vax-vaccinated cats with outdoor access and ≥3 years of annual vaccine boost, resulted in a vaccine efficacy of 56% in Australia where subtype-A viruses prevail. Remarkably, this protection rate is far better than the protection rate of 31.2% observed in the best HIV-1 vaccine (RV144) trial. Current review describes the findings from the commercial and prototype vaccine trials and compares their immune correlates of protection. The studies described in this review demonstrate the overarching importance of ant-FIV T-cell immunity more than anti-FIV antibody immunity in affording protection. Thus, future efforts in developing the next generation FIV vaccine and the first effective HIV-1 vaccine should consider incorporating highly conserved protective T-cell epitopes together with the conserved protective B-cell epitopes, but without inducing adverse factors that eliminate efficacy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bikash Sahay
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Immunology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, P.O. Box 110880, Gainesville, FL 32611-0880, USA.
| | - Janet K Yamamoto
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Immunology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, P.O. Box 110880, Gainesville, FL 32611-0880, USA.
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Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW Understanding the characteristics of transmission during acute HIV infection (AHI) may inform targets for vaccine-induced immune interdiction. Individuals treated in AHI with a small HIV reservoir size may be ideal candidates for therapeutic HIV vaccines aiming for HIV remission (i.e. viremic control after treatment interruption). RECENT FINDINGS The AHI period is brief and peak viremia predicts a viral set point that occurs 4-5 weeks following infection. Robust HIV-specific CD8 T-cell responses lower viral set points. Phylogenetic analyses of founder viruses demonstrated unique bottleneck selections and specific genetic signatures to optimize for high-fitness variants and successful transmission events. HIV clades, route of transmission and the presence of minor variants may affect vaccine protection. Antiretroviral treatment in AHI results in smaller HIV reservoir size, better CD4 T-cell recovery and fewer virus escapes. SUMMARY The knowledge of untreated and treated AHI informs the development of vaccines, in that preventive vaccines will require broad coverage for multiple clades and antigenic variants associated with unique bottleneck selections. Vaccines that help the host to control viremia could minimize onward transmission. Therapeutic HIV vaccines aimed at HIV remission should be studied in early-treated individuals who have few or no viral escape mutants and a more preserved immune system.
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Leal L, Lucero C, Gatell JM, Gallart T, Plana M, García F. New challenges in therapeutic vaccines against HIV infection. Expert Rev Vaccines 2017; 16:587-600. [PMID: 28431490 DOI: 10.1080/14760584.2017.1322513] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION There is a growing interest in developing curative strategies for HIV infection. Therapeutic vaccines are one of the most promising approaches. We will review the current knowledge and the new challenges in this research field. Areas covered: PubMed and ClinicalTrial.gov databases were searched to review the progress and prospects for clinical development of immunotherapies aimed to cure HIV infection. Dendritic cells (DC)-based vaccines have yielded the best results in the field. However, major immune-virologic barriers may hamper current vaccine strategies. We will focus on some new challenges as the antigen presentation by DCs, CTL escape mutations, B cell follicle sanctuary, host immune environment (inflammation, immune activation, tolerance), latent reservoir and the lack of surrogate markers of response. Finally, we will review the rationale for designing new therapeutic vaccine candidates to be used alone or in combination with other strategies to improve their effectiveness. Expert commentary: In the next future, the combination of DCs targeting candidates, inserts to redirect responses to unmutated parts of the virus, adjuvants to redirect responses to sanctuaries or improve the balance between activation/tolerance (IL-15, anti-PD1 antibodies) and latency reversing agents could be necessary to finally achieve the remission of HIV-1 infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lorna Leal
- a Infectious Diseases Unit, HIVACAT, Hospital Clínic, IDIBAPS , University of Barcelona , Barcelona , Spain
| | - Constanza Lucero
- a Infectious Diseases Unit, HIVACAT, Hospital Clínic, IDIBAPS , University of Barcelona , Barcelona , Spain
| | - Josep M Gatell
- a Infectious Diseases Unit, HIVACAT, Hospital Clínic, IDIBAPS , University of Barcelona , Barcelona , Spain
| | - Teresa Gallart
- b Retrovirology and Viral Immunopathology Laboratories, HIVACAT, Hospital Clínic, IDIBAPS , University of Barcelona , Barcelona , Spain
| | - Montserrat Plana
- b Retrovirology and Viral Immunopathology Laboratories, HIVACAT, Hospital Clínic, IDIBAPS , University of Barcelona , Barcelona , Spain
| | - Felipe García
- a Infectious Diseases Unit, HIVACAT, Hospital Clínic, IDIBAPS , University of Barcelona , Barcelona , Spain
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Wang N, Yuan Z, Niu W, Li Q, Guo J. Synthetic biology approach for the development of conditionally replicating HIV-1 vaccine. JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL TECHNOLOGY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY (OXFORD, OXFORDSHIRE : 1986) 2017; 92:455-462. [PMID: 28983143 PMCID: PMC5624719 DOI: 10.1002/jctb.5174] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
While the combined antiretroviral therapy has resulted in a significant decrease in HIV-1 related morbidity and mortality, the HIV-1 pandemic has not been substantially averted. To curtail the 2.4 million new infections each year, a prophylactic HIV-1 vaccine is urgently needed. This review first summarizes four major completed clinical efficacy trials of prophylactic HIV-1 vaccine and their outcomes. Next, it discusses several other approaches that have not yet advanced to clinical efficacy trials, but provided valuable insights into vaccine design. Among them, live-attenuated vaccines (LAVs) provided excellent protection in a non-human primate model. However, safety concerns have precluded the current version of LAVs from clinical application. As the major component of this review, two synthetic biology approaches for improving the safety of HIV-1 LAVs through controlling HIV-1 replication are discussed. Particular focus is on a novel approach that uses unnatural amino acid-mediated suppression of amber nonsense codon to generate conditionally replicating HIV-1 variants. The objective is to attract more attention towards this promising research field and to provoke creative designs and innovative utilization of the two control strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nanxi Wang
- Department of Chemistry, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska, 68588, USA
| | - Zhe Yuan
- Nebraska Center for Virology & School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska, 68588, USA
| | - Wei Niu
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska, 68588, USA
| | - Qingsheng Li
- Nebraska Center for Virology & School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska, 68588, USA
| | - Jiantao Guo
- Department of Chemistry, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska, 68588, USA
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