Vaccination of Tamarin with Recombinant Vaccinia Virus Expressing Epstein Barr Virus (EBV) Latent Proteins

The aim of this work was to see whether tamarin immunisation with recombinant vaccinia virus expressing Epstein Barr Virus latent proteins could prime T cells which were, on activation, able to inhibit the outgrowth of Epstein Barr virus transformed cells in vitro. The vaccination appeared to be successful as all vaccinated tamarins developed vaccinia lesions. However, the vaccination protocol did not elicit a cell-mediated response capable of inhibiting the outgrowth of autologous Lymphoblastoid Cell Lines (LCLs) as seen in the tamarin infected with whole EBV, even though the recombinant vaccinia viruses used expressed the antigens commonly recognised by sero positive humans.