HTLV-III/LAV FOR POTENTIAL USE AS A RECOMBINANT SUBUNIT VACCINE

HTLV-III/LAV IS A RECENTLY DESCRIBED HUMAN RETROVIRUS LINKEDBOTH MOLECULAR- AND SEROEPIDEMIOLOGICALLY TO THE CURRENT EPIDEMIC OF AIDS. IT SHOULD BE POSSIBLE NOT ONLY TO INTERFERE WITH VIRAL PROPOGATION IN A CHEMOTHERAPEUTIC MANNER BUT ALSO TO EFFECT IMMUNOPROPHYLAXIS IN THE AT-RISK POPULATION, AS THE SYNDROME HAS AN INFECTIOUS ETIOLOGY. THEAIM OF THIS PROJECT IS TO IDENTIFY VIRALLY ENCODED ANTIGENICDETERMINANTS THAT ARE PRODUCED IN A RECOMBINANT DNA EXPRESSION VECTOR BY IMMUNOSCREENING PROTOCOLS. WELL- CHARACTERIZED RECOMBINANT HTLV-III ANTIGENS MAY SERVE AS SEROTYPIC MARKERS OF DISEASE AND WILL BE ASSAYED FOR THEIR EFFECT IN BLOCKING IN VITRO MEASURES OF NEUTRALIZATION. A RECOMBINANT EPITOPE EFFECTIVE IN THE LATTER ASSAY WOULD BE APRIME CANDIDATE FOR A RECOMBINANT SUBUNIT VACCINE.