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Optimized Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) E2 Glycoproteins and their Immunogenicity in Combination with MVA-HCV. Vaccines (Basel) 2020; 8:vaccines8030440. [PMID: 32764419 PMCID: PMC7563715 DOI: 10.3390/vaccines8030440] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2020] [Revised: 07/22/2020] [Accepted: 07/25/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) represents a major global health challenge and an efficient vaccine is urgently needed. Many HCV vaccination strategies employ recombinant versions of the viral E2 glycoprotein. However, recombinant E2 readily forms disulfide-bonded aggregates that might not be optimally suited for vaccines. Therefore, we have designed an E2 protein in which we strategically changed eight cysteines to alanines (E2.C8A). E2.C8A formed predominantly monomers and virtually no aggregates. Furthermore, E2.C8A also interacted more efficiently with broadly neutralizing antibodies than conventional E2. We used mice to evaluate different prime/boost immunization strategies involving a modified vaccinia virus Ankara (MVA) expressing the nearly full-length genome of HCV (MVA-HCV) in combination with either the E2 aggregates or the E2.C8A monomers. The combined MVA-HCV/E2 aggregates prime/boost strategy markedly enhanced HCV-specific effector memory CD4+ T cell responses and antibody levels compared to MVA-HCV/MVA-HCV. Moreover, the aggregated form of E2 induced higher levels of anti-E2 antibodies in vaccinated mice than E2.C8A monomers. These antibodies were cross-reactive and mainly of the IgG1 isotype. Our findings revealed how two E2 viral proteins that differ in their capacity to form aggregates are able to enhance to different extent the HCV-specific cellular and humoral immune responses, either alone or in combination with MVA-HCV. These combined protocols of MVA-HCV/E2 could serve as a basis for the development of a more effective HCV vaccine.
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Javadi F, Rahimi P, Modarresi MH, Bolhassani A, Shafiee Ardestani M, Sadat SM. G2 Dendrimer as a Carrier Can Enhance Immune Responses Against HCV-NS3 Protein in BALB/c Mice. Avicenna J Med Biotechnol 2019; 11:292-298. [PMID: 31908737 PMCID: PMC6925401] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a major issue of public health. It seems of paramount importance to find an effective vaccine against HCV infection. The best vaccine candidate should induce robust cellular responses. The aim of the current study was to evaluate immunogenicity effects of novel conjugated dendrimer G2 with the recombinant NS3 antigen as a vaccine candidate for eliciting Th1-oriented cellular responses. METHODS Female BALB/c mice were immunized with different regimes especially with NS3 conjugated with G2 dendrimer. The humoral responses (Total IgG and IgG iso-typing) and cellular responses (Ex vivo IFN-γ and IL-4 ELISpot assays, in vitro CTL assay and proliferation) were evaluated and compared in immunized mice. RESULTS The results indicated that induced specific total IgG in all mice groups immunized with rNS3 formulated with different adjuvants and IgG2a subclass was the predominant isotype in rNS3-G2 (p≤0.05). For preliminary evaluation of cellular response, ex vivo ELISpot assay has shown that the higher frequency of IFN-γ producing cells was in groups immunized with rNS3+M720 and rNS3-G2 (p= 0.0012) than control groups. Finally, the rNS3-specific CTLs activity showed the highest percentage of specific lysis (LDH release) of the target cells in rNS3-G2 and rNS3+M720 groups. CONCLUSION In the present study, as our knowledge, this is first time that the immunogenicity of nanodendrimer G2 as a biocompatible adjuvant with the HCV-NS3 antigen was evaluated. The results showed high capability of the regimen to induce strong Th1-orinted cellular response in mice model, indicating the dendrimer G2 as a novel adjuvant candidate for HCV vaccine studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Foozieh Javadi
- Department of Hepatitis and AIDS, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran,Depratment of Biology, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
| | - Pooneh Rahimi
- Department of Hepatitis and AIDS, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran
| | - Mohammad Hossien Modarresi
- Department of Medical Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Azam Bolhassani
- Department of Hepatitis and AIDS, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran
| | - Mehdi Shafiee Ardestani
- Department of Radiopharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Seyed Mehdi Sadat
- Department of Hepatitis and AIDS, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran,Corresponding authors: Seyed Mehdi Sadat, Ph.D., Department of Hepatitis and AIDS, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran Tel/Fax: +98 21 66969291 E-mail:
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Removal of the C6 Vaccinia Virus Interferon-β Inhibitor in the Hepatitis C Vaccine Candidate MVA-HCV Elicited in Mice High Immunogenicity in Spite of Reduced Host Gene Expression. Viruses 2018; 10:v10080414. [PMID: 30096846 PMCID: PMC6116028 DOI: 10.3390/v10080414] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2018] [Revised: 08/03/2018] [Accepted: 08/07/2018] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) represents a major global health problem for which a vaccine is not available. Modified vaccinia virus Ankara (MVA)-HCV is a unique HCV vaccine candidate based in the modified vaccinia virus Ankara (MVA) vector expressing the nearly full-length genome of HCV genotype 1a that elicits CD8⁺ T-cell responses in mice. With the aim to improve the immune response of MVA-HCV and because of the importance of interferon (IFN) in HCV infection, we deleted in MVA-HCV the vaccinia virus (VACV) C6L gene, encoding an inhibitor of IFN-β that prevents activation of the interferon regulatory factors 3 and 7 (IRF3 and IRF7). The resulting vaccine candidate (MVA-HCV ΔC6L) expresses all HCV antigens and deletion of C6L had no effect on viral growth in permissive chicken cells. In human monocyte-derived dendritic cells, infection with MVA-HCV ΔC6L triggered severe down-regulation of IFN-β, IFN-β-induced genes, and cytokines in a manner similar to MVA-HCV, as defined by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and microarray analysis. In infected mice, both vectors had a similar profile of recruited immune cells and induced comparable levels of adaptive and memory HCV-specific CD8⁺ T-cells, mainly against p7 + NS2 and NS3 HCV proteins, with a T cell effector memory (TEM) phenotype. Furthermore, antibodies against E2 were also induced. Overall, our findings showed that while these vectors had a profound inhibitory effect on gene expression of the host, they strongly elicited CD8⁺ T cell and humoral responses against HCV antigens and to the virus vector. These observations add support to the consideration of these vectors as potential vaccine candidates against HCV.
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Czarnota A, Tyborowska J, Peszyńska-Sularz G, Gromadzka B, Bieńkowska-Szewczyk K, Grzyb K. Immunogenicity of Leishmania-derived hepatitis B small surface antigen particles exposing highly conserved E2 epitope of hepatitis C virus. Microb Cell Fact 2016; 15:62. [PMID: 27075377 PMCID: PMC4831159 DOI: 10.1186/s12934-016-0460-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2015] [Accepted: 03/31/2016] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a major health problem worldwide, affecting an estimated 2-3 % of human population. An HCV vaccine, however, remains unavailable. High viral diversity poses a challenge in developing a vaccine capable of eliciting a broad neutralizing antibody response against all HCV genotypes. The small surface antigen (sHBsAg) of hepatitis B virus (HBV) has the ability to form highly immunogenic subviral particles which are currently used as an efficient anti-HBV vaccine. It also represents an attractive antigen carrier for the delivery of foreign sequences. In the present study, we propose a bivalent vaccine candidate based on novel chimeric particles in which highly conserved epitope of HCV E2 glycoprotein (residues 412-425) was inserted into the hydrophilic loop of sHBsAg. RESULTS The expression of chimeric protein was performed in an unconventional, Leishmania tarentolae expression system resulting in an assembly of particles which retained immunogenicity of both HCV epitope and sHBsAg protein. Direct transmission electron microscopy observation and immunogold staining confirmed the formation of spherical particles approximately 22 nm in diameter, and proper foreign epitope exposition. Furthermore, the sera of mice immunized with chimeric particles proved reactive not only to purified yeast-derived sHBsAg proteins but also HCV E2 412-425 synthetic peptide. Most importantly, they were also able to cross-react with E1E2 complexes from different HCV genotypes. CONCLUSIONS For the first time, we confirmed successful assembly of chimeric sHBsAg virus-like particles (VLPs) in the L. tarentolae expression system which has the potential to produce high-yields of properly N-glycosylated mammalian proteins. We also proved that chimeric Leishmania-derived VLPs are highly immunogenic and able to elicit cross-reactive antibody response against HCV. This approach may prove useful in the development of a bivalent prophylactic vaccine against HBV and HCV and opens up a new and low-cost opportunity for the production of chimeric sHBsAg VLPs requiring N-glycosylation process for their proper functionality and immunogenicity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Czarnota
- Laboratory of Virus Molecular Biology, Intercollegiate Faculty of Biotechnology UG-MUG, University of Gdańsk, A. Abrahama 58, 80-307, Gdańsk, Poland
| | - Jolanta Tyborowska
- Laboratory of Recombinant Vaccines, Intercollegiate Faculty of Biotechnology UG-MUG, University of Gdańsk, A. Abrahama 58, Gdańsk, 80-307, Poland
| | - Grażyna Peszyńska-Sularz
- Tri-City Academic Laboratory Animal Centre, Medical University of Gdańsk, Dębinki 1, Gdańsk, 80-211, Poland
| | - Beata Gromadzka
- Laboratory of Recombinant Vaccines, Intercollegiate Faculty of Biotechnology UG-MUG, University of Gdańsk, A. Abrahama 58, Gdańsk, 80-307, Poland
| | - Krystyna Bieńkowska-Szewczyk
- Laboratory of Virus Molecular Biology, Intercollegiate Faculty of Biotechnology UG-MUG, University of Gdańsk, A. Abrahama 58, 80-307, Gdańsk, Poland
| | - Katarzyna Grzyb
- Laboratory of Virus Molecular Biology, Intercollegiate Faculty of Biotechnology UG-MUG, University of Gdańsk, A. Abrahama 58, 80-307, Gdańsk, Poland.
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Behzadi MA, Alborzi A, Kalani M, Pouladfar G, Dianatpour M, Ziyaeyan M. Immunization with a Recombinant Expression Vector Encoding NS3/NS4A of Hepatitis C Virus Genotype 3a Elicits Cell-Mediated Immune Responses in C57BL/6 Mice. Viral Immunol 2016; 29:138-47. [PMID: 26909520 DOI: 10.1089/vim.2015.0085] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Today, hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is considered as one of the most significant international health concerns. Although novel therapeutic regimens against the infection have shown satisfactory results, no approved vaccine exists yet. This study aimed to evaluate the immunogenicity of a DNA vaccine candidate for HCV-3a, based on nonstructural proteins NS3/NS4A, in C57BL/6 mice. Immunogenicity effect of pDisplay-NS3/NS4A was analyzed through immunization with 100 and 200 μg concentrations of the construct with complete Freund's adjuvant, monophosphoryl lipid A (MPL), or without adjuvant. The frequencies of different splenic mononuclear cells were measured using the Mouse Th1/Th2/Th17 Phenotyping Kit. Moreover, the number of T-CD8(+) cells was determined using conjugated anti-CD8a and anti-CD3e antibodies by flow cytometry. As observed, the frequencies of Th1, T-CD8(+), and Th2 cells increased in all the experimental groups, compared with the controls. The highest levels of the respective cells were seen in the group immunized with 200 μg of the construct with MPL. Also, there were positive correlations between the frequency of Th1 cells and those of Th2 and T-CD8(+) cells in all the immunized groups, but were significant in those receiving adjuvants. The frequency of Th17 cells did not statistically change among the groups. Taken together, our findings revealed that the constructed DNA vaccine encoding HCV-3a NS3/NS4A gene induces the cell-mediated immune responses significantly. However, its coadministration with adjuvants exhibits more efficient results than the recombinant plasmid alone. Further study is currently underway to evaluate the specific immune responses and recognize the responsible antigenic epitopes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohammad Amin Behzadi
- 1 Professor Alborzi Clinical Microbiology Research Center, Nemazee Hospital, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences , Shiraz, Iran .,2 Student Research Committee, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences , Shiraz, Iran
| | - Abdolvahab Alborzi
- 1 Professor Alborzi Clinical Microbiology Research Center, Nemazee Hospital, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences , Shiraz, Iran
| | - Mehdi Kalani
- 1 Professor Alborzi Clinical Microbiology Research Center, Nemazee Hospital, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences , Shiraz, Iran
| | - Gholamreza Pouladfar
- 1 Professor Alborzi Clinical Microbiology Research Center, Nemazee Hospital, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences , Shiraz, Iran
| | - Mehdi Dianatpour
- 3 Stem Cell and Transgenic Technology Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences , Shiraz, Iran .,4 Department of Medical Genetics, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences , Shiraz, Iran
| | - Mazyar Ziyaeyan
- 1 Professor Alborzi Clinical Microbiology Research Center, Nemazee Hospital, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences , Shiraz, Iran
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Kumar A, Das S, Mullick R, Lahiri P, Tatineni R, Goswami D, Bhat P, Torresi J, Gowans EJ, Karande AA, Das S. Immune responses against hepatitis C virus genotype 3a virus-like particles in mice: A novel VLP prime-adenovirus boost strategy. Vaccine 2015; 34:1115-25. [PMID: 26700891 DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2015.11.061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2015] [Revised: 10/15/2015] [Accepted: 11/19/2015] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection represents a major health threat to global population. In India, approximately 15-20% of cases of chronic liver diseases are caused by HCV infection. Although, new drug treatments hold great promise for HCV eradication in infected individuals, the treatments are highly expensive. A vaccine for preventing or treating HCV infection would be of great value, particularly in developing countries. Several preclinical trials of virus-like particle (VLP) based vaccine strategies are in progress throughout the world. Previously, using baculovirus based system, we have reported the production of hepatitis C virus-like particles (HCV-LPs) encoding structural proteins for genotype 3a, which is prevalent in India. In the present study, we have generated HCV-LPs using adenovirus based system and tried different immunization strategies by using combinations of both kinds of HCV-LPs with other genotype 3a-based immunogens. HCV-LPs and peptides based ELISAs were used to evaluate antibody responses generated by these combinations. Cell-mediated immune responses were measured by using T-cell proliferation assay and intracellular cytokine staining. We observed that administration of recombinant adenoviruses expressing HCV structural proteins as final booster enhances both antibody as well as T-cell responses. Additionally, reduction of binding of VLP and JFH1 virus to human hepatocellular carcinoma cells demonstrated the presence of neutralizing antibodies in immunized sera. Taken together, our results suggest that the combined regimen of VLP followed by recombinant adenovirus could more effectively inhibit HCV infection, endorsing the novel vaccine strategy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anuj Kumar
- Department of Microbiology and Cell Biology, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012, India
| | - Soma Das
- Department of Biochemistry, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012, India
| | - Ranajoy Mullick
- Department of Microbiology and Cell Biology, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012, India
| | - Priyanka Lahiri
- Department of Microbiology and Cell Biology, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012, India
| | - Ranjitha Tatineni
- Department of Microbiology and Cell Biology, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012, India
| | - Debashree Goswami
- Department of Microbiology and Cell Biology, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012, India
| | - Prasanna Bhat
- Department of Microbiology and Cell Biology, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012, India
| | - Joseph Torresi
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3000, Australia
| | - Eric James Gowans
- Virology Laboratory, Discipline of Surgery, University of Adelaide, Basil Hetzel Institute for Translational Medicine, Adelaide, SA 5011, Australia
| | - Anjali Anoop Karande
- Department of Biochemistry, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012, India
| | - Saumitra Das
- Department of Microbiology and Cell Biology, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012, India.
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Priming with two DNA vaccines expressing hepatitis C virus NS3 protein targeting dendritic cells elicits superior heterologous protective potential in mice. Arch Virol 2015. [PMID: 26215441 DOI: 10.1007/s00705-015-2535-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
Abstract
Development an effective vaccine may offer an alternative preventive and therapeutic strategy against HCV infection. DNA vaccination has been shown to induce robust humoral and cellular immunity and overcome many problems associated with conventional vaccines. In this study, mice were primed with either conventional pVRC-based or suicidal pSC-based DNA vaccines carrying DEC-205-targeted NS3 antigen (DEC-NS3) and boosted with type 5 adenoviral vectors encoding the partial NS3 and core antigens (C44P). The prime boost regimen induced a marked increase in antigen-specific humoral and T-cell responses in comparison with either rAd5-based vaccines or DEC-205-targeted DNA immunization in isolation. The protective effect against heterogeneous challenge was correlated with high levels of anti-NS3 IgG and T-cell-mediated immunity against NS3 peptides. Moreover, priming with a suicidal DNA vaccine (pSC-DEC-NS3), which elicited increased TNF-α-producing CD4+ and CD8+ T-cells against NS3-2 peptides (aa 1245-1461), after boosting, showed increased heterogeneous protective potential compared with priming with a conventional DNA vaccine (pVRC-DEC-NS3). In conclusion, a suicidal DNA vector (pSC-DEC-NS3) expressing DEC-205-targeted NS3 combined with boosting using an rAd5-based HCV vaccine (rAd5-C44P) is a good candidate for a safe and effective vaccine against HCV infection.
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't Hart BA, Bogers WM, Haanstra KG, Verreck FA, Kocken CH. The translational value of non-human primates in preclinical research on infection and immunopathology. Eur J Pharmacol 2015; 759:69-83. [PMID: 25814254 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejphar.2015.03.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2015] [Revised: 02/09/2015] [Accepted: 03/12/2015] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
The immune system plays a central role in the defense against environmental threats - such as infection with viruses, parasites or bacteria - but can also be a cause of disease, such as in the case of allergic or autoimmune disorders. In the past decades the impressive development of biotechnology has provided scientists with biological tools for the development of highly selective treatments for the different types of disorders. However, despite some clear successes the translation of scientific discoveries into effective treatments has remained challenging. The often-disappointing predictive validity of the preclinical animal models that are used in the selection of the most promising vaccine or drug candidates is the Achilles heel in the therapy development process. This publication summarizes the relevance and usage of non-human primates as pre-clinical model in infectious and autoimmune diseases, in particular for biologicals, which due to their high species-specificity are inactive in lower species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bert A 't Hart
- Department Immunobiology, Biomedical Primate Research Centre, Rijswijk, The Netherlands; University of Groningen, University Medical Center, Department Neuroscience, Groningen, The Netherlands.
| | - Willy M Bogers
- Department Virology, Biomedical Primate Research Centre, Rijswijk, The Netherlands.
| | - Krista G Haanstra
- Department Immunobiology, Biomedical Primate Research Centre, Rijswijk, The Netherlands.
| | - Frank A Verreck
- Department Parasitology, Biomedical Primate Research Centre, Rijswijk, The Netherlands.
| | - Clemens H Kocken
- Department Parasitology, Biomedical Primate Research Centre, Rijswijk, The Netherlands.
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Verstrepen BE, Boonstra A, Koopman G. Immune mechanisms of vaccine induced protection against chronic hepatitis C virus infection in chimpanzees. World J Hepatol 2015; 7:53-69. [PMID: 25624997 PMCID: PMC4295194 DOI: 10.4254/wjh.v7.i1.53] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2014] [Revised: 10/22/2014] [Accepted: 11/07/2014] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is characterized by a high propensity for development of life-long viral persistence. An estimated 170 million people suffer from chronic hepatitis caused by HCV. Currently, there is no approved prophylactic HCV vaccine available. With the near disappearance of the most relevant animal model for HCV, the chimpanzee, we review the progression that has been made regarding prophylactic vaccine development against HCV. We describe the results of the individual vaccine evaluation experiments in chimpanzees, in relation to what has been observed in humans. The results of the different studies indicate that partial protection against infection can be achieved, but a clear correlate of protection has thus far not yet been defined.
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Affiliation(s)
- Babs E Verstrepen
- Babs E Verstrepen, Gerrit Koopman, Department of Virology, Biomedical Primate Research Centre, 2280GH Rijswijk, The Netherlands
| | - André Boonstra
- Babs E Verstrepen, Gerrit Koopman, Department of Virology, Biomedical Primate Research Centre, 2280GH Rijswijk, The Netherlands
| | - Gerrit Koopman
- Babs E Verstrepen, Gerrit Koopman, Department of Virology, Biomedical Primate Research Centre, 2280GH Rijswijk, The Netherlands
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