Design and construction of T-lymphocyte epitope-based therapeutic HIV-1 vaccines

Abstract

The demonstration that highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART) can control human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) viral replication and the associated destruction of the immune system provides an opportunity to implement therapeutic vaccine strategies. The Epimmune approach is based on separate vaccine immunogens designed to induce, or augment, helper T-lymphocyte (HTL) or cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) responsiveness when administered in conjunction with HAART. The vaccines are composed of carefully selected, minimal HTL or CTL epitopes. Vaccines composed of multiple epitopes can be produced and delivered using different formats, including deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) plasmid-based vaccines and recombinant proteins.