HIV variability and perspectives for a vaccine

P. Verani, S. Buttò, B. Taddeo, M. Federico, G. B. Rossi

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4 Scopus citations

Abstract

An overview of efforts to induce neutralizing antibodies in order to develop an effective vaccine against AIDS is presented. The principal Neutralizing Determinant (PND) on the HIV-1 envelope is described. PND variability and the induction of neutralizing antibodies by synthetic peptides representing PND are discussed. The use of a cocktail of different peptides representing the PND sequences of the majority of HIV-1 isolates, as well as the construction of hybrid immunogens containing PND of several viral isolates, could overcome the problems related to PND variability. A different approach based on the possibility of inducing a type of intracellular immunity is also discussed: a cellular clone (F12) obtained in our laboratory from Hut-78 cells infected with supernatant of cultured lymphocytes from an HIV-infected patient, does not release viral particles despite the presence of a full-length HIV-1 provirus. Moreover, F12 cells are fully resistant against superinfection with any HIV-1 or HIV-2 isolates. We are now attempting to reproduce the homologous viral interference by transferring the F12/HIV genome of the clone into HIV-susceptible cells in order to render these cells resistant to HIV infection.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)542-544
Number of pages3
JournalVaccine
Volume11
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 1993

Keywords

  • HIV
  • intracellular immunity
  • variability

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