A DNA inducing VLP vaccine designed for HIV and tested in mice

We developed a DNA vaccine that induces the formation of a VLP in vivo. This VLP was designed to elicit neutralizing antibodies, to induce better T-cell responses and to activate the innate immune system. Overall, 5 groups of 10 mice were electroporated with the following constructs: pVLP-LTR-GagPro [full], pVLP-GagPro [VLP wihout RNA], pVLP-LTR-Gag [VLP immature], pVLP-Gag and pVLP-EnvBG505 [regular DNA vaccine] and a mock group. We performed ICS on the mouse spleens and performed ELISA for ENV antibodies and a Luminex assay for inflammatory cytokines. The VLP showed good binding to the neutralizing antibodies. The percentage of CD4 cells producing cytokines was 0.1% [IFNg], 0.15%[IL-2] and 0.2% [TNFa] for the construct pVLP-LTR-GagPro. The percentage of CD8 cells producing cytokines was 0.3%[IFNg], 0.2%[IL-2] and 0.25%[TNFa]. All pVLP constructs induced more antibodies for EnvBG505 than the regular DNA vaccine Env. The pVLP-LTR-GagPro induced more IL-1B than the other constructs 24 hours post-vaccination.