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Published on: May 6, 2015
Increased human immunodeficiency virus type 1 Env expression and antibody induction using an enhanced alphavirus
Mattias N E Forsell1, Gerald M McInerney1, Pia Dosenovic1
1Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology, Karolinska Institutet, SE-171 77 Stockholm, Sweden, and Swedish Institute for Infectious Disease Control, SE-171 82 Solna, Sweden.
The Journal of General Virology
|September 18, 2007
Summary
New viral vectors enhance antibody responses by increasing vaccine antigen secretion. This improved method boosts antibody levels in immunized mice, offering a promising strategy for effective vaccination against various pathogens.
Area of Science:
- Vaccinology
- Immunology
- Molecular Biology
Background:
- Viral vectors are effective for inducing cellular immunity but less so for humoral immunity.
- Semliki Forest virus (SFV)-based vaccines require optimization for robust antibody induction.
Purpose of the Study:
- To engineer an enhanced SFV-based viral vector for improved vaccine antigen expression and secretion.
- To evaluate the impact of the enhanced vector on antibody responses against a model antigen, human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) gp120.
Main Methods:
- Designed a novel SFV vector incorporating a translation-enhancer element and an internal signal sequence.
- Quantified the secretion of soluble HIV-1 gp120 from infected cells using both enhanced and parental vectors.
- Assessed gp120-specific antibody levels in mice immunized with antigens produced by the enhanced vector.
Main Results:
- The enhanced vector led to approximately tenfold greater secretion of soluble gp120 compared to the parental vector.
- Immunization with the enhanced vector resulted in a significant increase in gp120-specific antibodies in mice.
- Antigen expression levels from the parental vector were identified as a limiting factor for antibody induction.
Conclusions:
- The enhanced viral vector significantly improves the secretion of soluble antigens, leading to enhanced humoral immune responses.
- This optimized vector system holds promise for eliciting robust antibody responses against heterologous antigens in vaccination strategies.
- The findings support the use of enhanced viral vectors for more effective vaccine development.
