HIV vaccine development: an exploratory review of the trials and tribulations

While advances have been made in some areas, more often than not attempts at vaccine development against the human immunodeficiency virus only serve to highlight gaps in our knowledge of host immunity. While numerous approaches have been explored, to control infection, an HIV vaccine will need to be able to induce production of neutralizing antibodies and a cytotoxic T cell response in order to prevent the formation of the CD4+ T cell viral reservoir. However, challenges still remain for the development of an HIV vaccine. Incomplete knowledge of host immunity lies at the core of the tribulations lying in the face of effective vaccine development.