Evaluation in macaques of HIV-1 DNA vaccines containing primate CpG motifs and fowlpoxvirus vaccines co-expressing IFNγ or IL-12

Abstract

Induction of HIV-specific T-cell responses by vaccines may facilitate efficient control of HIV. Plasmid DNA vaccines and recombinant fowlpoxvirus (rFPV) vaccines are promising HIV-1 vaccine candidates, although either vaccine alone may be insufficient to protect against HIV-1. A consecutive immunisation strategy involving priming with DNA and boosting with rFPV vaccines encoding multiple common HIV-1 antigens was further evaluated in 30 macaques. The DNA vaccine vector included CpG immunostimulatory molecules, and rFPV vaccines were compared with rFPV vaccines co-expressing the pro-T cell cytokines IFNγ or IL-12. Vaccines expressed multiple HIV-1 genes, mutated to remove active sites of the ..