Jaffray Ann, Shephard Enid, van Harmelen Joanne, Williamson Carolyn, Williamson Anna-Lise, Rybicki Edward P
Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa.
MRC Liver Research Centre, Department of Medicine, University of Cape Town, Observatory 7925, South Africa.
J Gen Virol. 2004 Feb;85(Pt 2):409-413. doi: 10.1099/vir.0.19396-0.
Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) subtype C is the predominant HIV in southern Africa, and is the target of a number of recent vaccine candidates. It has been proposed that a heterologous prime/boost vaccination strategy may result in stronger, broader and more prolonged immune responses. Since HIV-1 Gag Pr55 polyprotein can assemble into virus-like particles (VLPs) which have been shown to induce a strong cellular immune response in animals, we showed that a typical southern African subtype C Pr55 protein expressed in insect cells via recombinant baculovirus could form VLPs. We then used the baculovirus-produced VLPs as a boost to a subtype C HIV-1 gag DNA prime vaccination in mice. This study shows that a low dose of HIV-1 subtype C Gag VLPs can significantly boost the immune response to a single subtype C gag DNA inoculation in mice. These results suggest a possible vaccination regimen for humans.
1型人类免疫缺陷病毒（HIV-1）C亚型是非洲南部的主要HIV毒株，也是近期多种候选疫苗的目标。有人提出，异源初免/加强免疫接种策略可能会产生更强、更广泛和更持久的免疫反应。由于HIV-1 Gag Pr55多蛋白可以组装成病毒样颗粒（VLP），并且已证明其能在动物体内诱导强烈的细胞免疫反应，我们发现通过重组杆状病毒在昆虫细胞中表达的典型非洲南部C亚型Pr55蛋白能够形成VLP。然后，我们将杆状病毒产生的VLP用于加强免疫小鼠，这些小鼠之前已接种过C亚型HIV-1 gag DNA初免疫苗。本研究表明，低剂量的HIV-1 C亚型Gag VLP可显著增强小鼠对单次C亚型gag DNA接种的免疫反应。这些结果提示了一种可能适用于人类的疫苗接种方案。
