Peptide-Based HIV Conjugate Vaccine

HIV is a significant problem worldwide. Considerable effort is being made to develop a vaccinewhich elicits high titers of neutralizing antibodies, which have been correlated with long term protection.The investigators have devised a novel, dual carrier conjugate vaccine. They anticipate it will overcomemany of the limitations of current experimental HIV vaccines, including short-lived immunity, requirementfor multiple immunizations, and limited effectiveness in immune-compromised patients. The dual carrierconstruct induces rapid, persistent, high titer anti-peptide antibodies, in the absence of adjuvant, evenin neonatal and immune-compromised animals. They will use this construct to induce antibodies to HIVgp120 envelope-derived peptides which have been demonstrated to induce broadly cross-reactive,neutralizing antibodies. In Phase I study, they will evaluate the conjugate vaccine, in mice, for (l) optimalpeptide configuration, (2) ability to prime for boosting, (3) ability to immunize and boost inimmune-compromised animals, and (4) the need for additional adjuvants. This technology can be appliedto other peptide-based conjugate vaccines.